The Days of Pokemon Tech
by MultiplePersonas
Summary: Prequel to "Love and Pokeballs", kinda . STORIES OF JOSE'S DAYS AT POKEMON TECH, HIS FRIENDS, and his rivals as they face tests, BULLIES, AND CRUSHES! NEED OCS! PLEASE R&R! LOTS OF ACTION, I PROMISE! SOUNDS CLICHED, BUT WORTH YOUR WHILE! PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Slow Start

(OKAY, I'VE BEEN OUT OF THIS PARTICULAR GAME FOR A WHILE, BUT I'M BACK (sort of…)! THINGS WILL BE MORE IRREGULAR THAN THEY USED TO BE, BUT I DON'T PLAN ON LEAVING YOU FOREVER! Still, fans of my old Pokemon fics, welcome back! New fans, WELCOME PERIOD! I hope you enjoy this fic, as it's about time I put up chapter one, even though I've been hitting some bumps. Here you go, I think you'll like it!)

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Dog Days of Pokemon Tech**

**Chapter One: Slow Start**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"There you have it," Mr. North explained, pointing at the double helix model on the desk in front of him. "DNA—the code of life. This ever-duplicating strand of amino acids makes up every living organism there is. The mere combinations of thymine, guanine, cytosine, and adenine constantly mixing and merging throughout the generations are responsible for Darwinian evolution!"

Nearly the entire class stared at him and scratched their heads. Mr. North was a shorter-than-average man in casual clothes, his glasses almost always placed above his curly brown hair. He was the biology teacher, and he was always excited about his job, although nobody quite understood why.

"Come on," he said, his smile never fading. "I know that you're at this school to prepare you for the Pokemon world, but you still need to know this stuff as a fallback to function in real life. I mean, come on, 90% of all Pokemon trainers drop out in their first year, and they need to make a living, don't they?"

Steven, a tall boy in the fourth row with grey hair that contradicted his young age, raised his hand.

"It's not that, Mr. North," he stated. "Really, we understand that this is important. It's just that…well, this is a high school-level class, and you're teaching to a room full of ten-year-olds."

"We've been telling you all year, sir," said Riley, a dark-haired boy dressed entirely in indigo. "We just aren't ready for this curriculum."

"Nonsense!" Mr. North replied cheerfully. "You're here at Pokemon Tech because you're advanced!"

At that moment, as if to prove him wrong, the classroom door opened and a student walked in. Not just any student, though—this was Vienna Silton, the pampered daughter of the owner of the Gorgeous chain of resorts, and one of the few things in the world that could wipe the smile off of Mr. North's face. Physically, she was very attractive—a tall, bleach-blonde girl with just the right amount of makeup to bring it out, and pink top-of-the-line designer clothes straight from Paris with matching handbag and shoes. Her attitude, however, betrayed all of that—she was a lazy, snobbish brat with the IQ of a stuffed sausage.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late," she said, not sounding as if she cared at all.

"Another 'important meeting', Vienna?" Mr. North said with a frown.

"Yeah," Vienna answered. "My mani-pedi ran lo…I mean, my cousin's sick," she finished, suddenly realizing to whom she was talking.

"Sick, eh?" Mr. North commented. "How terrible. What disease is it?"

Vienna attempted to think for a minute before answering.

"Uh…the one where I have to visit every week for her to get better," she smirked. "Oh, and there's a new student outside the door," she added, handing Mr. North a note. "The principal asked me to bring him here."

"And you left him in the hallway?!" Riley exclaimed.

"I think he can open the door by himself," Vienna sneered as she walked to her desk and sat down. "I mean, I know it's hard the first time, but I think he can do it."

Mr. North rushed over to the door and thrust it open, then eagerly ushered the new student in. It was a boy—a short one dressed in casual clothing, with highly unusual hair—it was blue.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," the teacher apologized. "Please forgive us…Russell," he said, reading the name off the note. "Please, have a seat anywhere you like. I was just starting my lecture on DNA."

The boy nodded and paused to look at the double helix for a moment when suddenly it shifted, turning into a purple blob with a face like a smiley emoticon, giving the boy a fright and sending many members of the class into gales of laughter.

"_Ditto, ditto!" _the blob said cheerfully.

"Ditto, what have I told you about scaring students?" Mr. North reprimanded before turning back to Russell. "You'll have to forgive my Ditto for that," he said. "It really doesn't mean any harm. It just loves surprising students like that. Please, find a seat, and Ditto, DNA form again."

The blob consented and once again took on the form of a double helix as Russell found a seat next to Steven and Mr. North resumed his lecture.

"So," Steven whispered. "Where are you from?"

"Olivine City," Russell replied nervously. "I really didn't think I'd miss it so much until now."

"Don't worry about it," Riley assured him, turning around to join the conversation. "You get used to this place really fast. I'm sure you'll fit right in. What are your connections?"

"Connections?" Russell repeated, cocking his head to one side.

"Everybody in Pokemon Tech is here for a reason," Steven explained. "For example, I'm the son of the CEO of Devon Corp., and Riley here was recommended by Byron, the Oreburg gym leader. How'd you get in?"

Russell blushed, then said, "I'm, uh, here on a scholarship. My grades were really high back home, and I was interested in being a Pokemon trainer, so my parents signed me up for this place when I asked." It was clear that he was holding something back, though.

Riley and Steven stared at him, but didn't pursue the matter further as they continued talking to their new classmate. They learned a lot about him, like that, like them, he was aspiring to be a Pokemon master, and that he had had experience battling before.

Finally the bell rang and Mr. North ended his lecture and excused the class.

"So," Russell asked as he walked into the hall with Steven and Riley. "Where to now?"

"Nowhere in particular," Steven told him. "That was our last class today. We're pretty much free 'til dinner."

"Well, where do we go until then?" Russell asked.

"You can chill out in your room," Riley suggested. "Which one is it? We'll show you where it is."

Russell pulled out his information card and read his room number aloud.

"Room 14B."

Riley and Steven broke out in smiles.

"I knew it!" Steven smirked.

"Looks like you're roomin' with us!" Riley laughed. "I should've figured after our old roommate left."

"Why'd he leave?" Russell asked.

"Some people decide early on that they don't want to be trainers for a living," Steven explained sadly before cheering up again. "So, what do you want to do, roomie? We can take you over to the dorm, or we can give you a full tour. The choice is yours."

Russell thought for a minute, then quickly said "Tour, please."

"Excellent choice," Riley told him. "Follow us."

The two boys led Russell through the hallways, weaving and turning around corners and the occasional student, finally stopping in a large room full of comfortable chairs and couches. Students of all types were sitting around, playing games, reading books, or just talking.

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" Steven said, suddenly zipping over to a girl with waist-length brown hair and a grey top and shirt reading in a large armchair.

Riley sighed and followed him, Russell close behind.

"Hey, Roxanne," Steven greeted, trying to act casual. "Funny seeing you here."

Roxanne closed her book and rolled her eyes. "Steven, this is my usual study spot," she replied, smiling.

While Steven blushed, Riley intercepted. "Roxanne," he said. "I want you to meet our new roommate, Russell. Russell, meet our friend Roxanne, one of Pokemon Tech's top students."

Now it was Roxanne's turn to blush. "Oh, I'm not _that_ good," she commented.

"Don't sell yourself short!" Steven yelled, catching several peoples' attention. "You're a frontrunner for valedictorian! You could be Elite Four Champion someday!"

Roxanne chuckled a little. "You could very well be Champion yourself someday, Steven," she said, before turning over to Russell. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Russell. If you ever need help with your classwork, just ask me."

"Thanks," Russell said with a smile. "I'll be sure to do that."

"Well," Riley said to his blue-haired companion. "Might as well introduce you to someone else. Roxanne," he queried. "Do you know where your roommate is?"

"Which one?" Roxanne asked, picking up her book.

"The one we'd actually _want_ Russell here to meet on his first day," Riley told her, more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Roxanne smirked a little, then said "I think she's in the garden, as per usual."

"Thanks!" Riley said, before grabbing Russell and the enamored Steven by the wrists and leading them down another hallway.

"The garden isn't that far away," he elaborated. "And it's a great place for relaxation—oh, no," he groaned, trailing off.

Right in front of the door leading outside were two very angry boys—one a slightly muscular one in a blue vest and jeans with a blue bandana over his black hair, and the other a skinny one in red sweatpants and a red hooded sweatshirt that almost covered his pinkish-red hair. They weren't mad at the new arrivals, though. In fact, they probably hadn't even noticed them. The two were deep in a heated argument.

"Land!" the boy in red shouted.

"Sea!" the blue boy screamed.

"Land!"

"Sea!"

"Guys, can we get through?" Steven asked.

"NOT NOW!" the boys shouted at him, then quickly resumed their argument.

"Land Pokemon are the best!" the red boy insisted.

"As if!" scoffed the boy in blue. "Pokemon of the sea are obviously superior!"

"Have you _seen _a Hippowdon's Earthquake attack?" the red boy yelled.

"Ever witnessed a Gyarados' Hydro Pump?" the blue boy retorted.

"You just can't admit that I'm right, can you?" the red boy screamed.

"Of course I can't!" the blue boy exclaimed. "Because you're not!"

"Seriously, guys," Riley said, frustrated. "We—."

"GET LOST!" the two boys shouted before getting back to their fight.

"Maybe I can help," said a female voice from outside. In a few seconds, an attractive young girl ran in. She was short, with short, straight, jet-black hair caught in a red headband, and had some of the largest, most expressive eyes that Russell had ever seen. She appeared to be wearing a mint-green kimono and sandals.

At the girl's feet was a round, blue Pokemon with an orange flower bud on its head, and it had a big gob of what looked like saliva running down from its mouth.

"Uh-oh," Steven whispered in Russell's ear. "Hold your nose, buddy!"

"Why?" Russell asked.

"Trust us," Riley told him as he and Steven pinched their noses. "You wanna do it _now_!"

Russell shrugged and heeded the unusual warning, and was soon very glad that he had. An instant after he got a gulp of fresh air, the Pokemon let loose a brown cloud of unimaginable stink. It was like a garlic landfill in a sulfur pit! It had to be the single most disgusting scent ever smelled!

The two arguing boys, too busy to take notice of their surroundings, suddenly caught a whiff of the stink and bolted out of the hall at top speed.

"Nice work, Gloom," the girl said. "Now use Sweet Scent."

"_Gloom, gloom," _the Pokemon replied, releasing from its bud a pink cloud with a delightful scent, restoring breathable air.

"Thanks, Erika," Steven said as Russell gasped for oxygen. Clearly this was business as usual for him and Riley.

"Yeah," Riley agreed. "We can always count on you."

"It was nothing, really," Erika smirked before turning to Russell. "Who's this?"

"I'm Russell," the boy choked, extending a hand. Erika smiled warmly and shook it.

"I'm Erika," she told him. "It's nice to meet you. I take it you're Steven and Riley's new roommate?"

"Uh…yeah," the new boy smirked. "So, who were those guys?" he asked, gesturing down the hall.

"Archie and Maxie," Riley spat. Obviously the two were not popular.

"They're both talented trainers," Steven explained. "It's just that they can never seem to agree on much, and they _always_ end up in a big fight, and sometimes drag innocent people into the crossfire."

"Yes, but enough about them," Erika sighed. "They're gone now. Please, won't you join me in the garden?"

Russell blushed and nodded furiously, then followed her out the door with Steven and Riley close behind.

Erika led the three boys over a ways to a large patch beside the building. It was an absolute Eden, with tall, colorful flowers everywhere, all of them bursting with beautiful scents. The beauty was almost too much to take!

To add to that, dozens of bug Pokemon were congregating around the garden, filling their noses and bellies to the limit.

"You like it?" Erika asked modestly. "I planted a lot of them myself."

"It's beautiful," Russell said, causing her to blush.

For a couple of minutes, nobody said anything, until Russell finally broke the silence.

"That's a really nice Gloom you've got," he told Erika.

"Oh, thanks," Erika said. "It saved me from a Grimer a year ago, and we've been best friends ever since."

"Erika's one of the few students here with an evolved Pokemon," Steven informed.

"Oh, please," Erika replied, her face going red again. "Just give them some time. I'm sure plenty of the Pokemon here will evolve in a matter of weeks."

"Hey, Russell," Riley asked. "What kind of Pokemon have _you_ got?"

"Well, I, um, uh…," Russell stammered. "I…don't have one. Not yet, anyway." He added quickly.

Steven and Riley gasped, and Erika's mouth hung open.

"You don't have a Pokemon?!" Steven repeated.

Russell shook his head.

"Great," Riley said sarcastically. "That means the classes will be that much harder for you."

"What do you mean?" Russell asked.

"Trainers are often allowed to use their Pokemon for classes," Erika elaborated. "Without one, you'll be at a disadvantage."

Russell stared at the ground and shook his head more. "You mean every other student here has their own Pokemon already?" he asked.

"Nobody said _that_!" Steven said with a laugh. "There's one other, at least."

"You should meet him right away," Riley said. "I think he's in the library right now."

"I'll go, too," Erika announced, recalling her Gloom into its Pokeball. "I'm pretty sure that you-know-who is prowling around there."

"Good idea," Riley commented as everybody got to their feet. "There's safety in numbers."

"Follow us," Steven said, taking Russell by the shoulder and pulling him indoors.

Once again, Russell was guided through several twisting hallways, occasionally taking a sharp turn or allowing another student going the other way to pass him, before finally reaching the library.

The library itself was a very large one as far as school libraries go. It was the size of a large gymnasium, and stacked with thousands of books on every subject, not just on Pokemon but on everything.

"So, where is this guy you wanted me to meet?" Russell asked, looking at all the students reading in couches and recliners.

"Over there, as usual," Riley replied, pointing to a row of desks with green videophones. Sitting alone at the end of the row was a boy.

This boy was a short one, at least a head shorter than Steven, and definitely one who'd stand out in a crowd. For one thing, he was wearing an immaculately tailored double-breasted blue jacket and pants, and for another, his hair, though stylish and well-groomed, was black with spots of white.

The boy sat very quietly and placed a Pokeball into the transport system and sent it to whomever he was talking to and shook his head.

"Oh, come now, Jose," said the man on the screen, who looked just like the boy except older and with a wire-thin black moustache. "Wallace did a lot of searching to find that Gible. You could at least humor us by battling with it a few more times."

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but the man cut him off.

"Yes, of course," the man sighed. "'It's just not the one', right? Honestly, Jose, you can't be so picky! Most trainers aren't near lucky enough to have this kind of selection, you know."

Once again, Jose tried to interject, but the man spoke before he could.

"Yes, I know that you want to find the perfect Pokemon for your personality, but the sad truth is that it doesn't exist! Not yet, anyway. Those kinds of relationships are built over time! They don't just happen! Think about that. We'll talk more next week."

With that, the screen went blank and Jose hung up.

"Still no luck, Jose?" Steven asked.

Jose shook his head.

"Eh, don't worry," Riley reassured him. "You'll find that Pokemon sooner or later. Oh, hey, I want you to meet someone."

"Hello," Russell said, stepping forward and waving. Jose shook his hand, but said nothing. "Kind of shy," he whispered to Steven.

"Nah," Steven whispered back. "He pretty much never talks."

"Well, Jose," Riley said. "This is your new bunkmate, Russell, so you may want to get used to him."

"Uh, guys," Erika suddenly hissed. "Trouble at 3 o'clock!"

All four boys turned to their right and frowned. Coming at them were two girls. One of them was Vienna, fashionable and dim as ever, but the other…well, she just looked…scary. She was shorter than Vienna, and dressed in a simple black tank top and black jeans. Her skin, though—she was clearly albino. Her pale, pale skin looked even whiter against her black clothes, and her eyes, though pink, were casting a terrifying glare.

"Watch out," Erika told Russell. "It's my roommate, Persephone."

"She's trouble," Riley added. "She may be from the Jenny family, but she doesn't care much about the law—she pulled some stunt back home that got her shipped over to stay right here."

"I'd avoid her if I were you," Steven advised. "With a rich dope sidekick like Vienna, she pretty much runs the place."

Russell gulped and hid behind his companions.

"Better to just face her," Erika said, trying to pull him back out.

"Yeah," Steven said as his new roommate was yanked out in front. "If she finds you hiding from her, she'll never leave you alone!"

"No, you don't under—hi, Persephone," Russell said, taking notice of the girl directly in front of him.

Jose, Erika, Riley, and Steven stared at each other and raised their eyebrows. Something was weird about Russell's greeting. It was nervous, sure, but also…there wasn't a word for it. It just sounded like he'd greeted her before.

"Oh. My. God!" Persephone snarled, glaring at Russell. "No way! As if being trapped here isn't enough, now they send my baby brother to keep an eye on me!"

"BABY BROTHER?!" Russell's companions exclaimed.

"_Twin_ brother!" Russell corrected, then went back to being nervous. "And I'm not here for _you_, Persephone! I'm here to train and become a Pokemon master!"

"Oh, how convenient!" Persephone snapped. "Mom sends you all the way here instead of just booting you out the door on a regular journey!"

"I couldn't!" Russell argued. "Thanks to _your_ little stunt, I can barely show my face in Johto due to association, and Mom won't trust _me_ with a Pokemon of my own! But hey, at least _I_ can go home if I want!"

That last part seemed to have struck a nerve. Persephone growled at him, causing everyone (even Vienna) to cringe. "Big mistake, you little narc!" she said, pulling out a Pokeball. "Go, Charon!"

Persephone threw the Pokeball and a Pokemon resembling a big, black, ragged crow with a crooked yellow beak appeared. _"Murkrow!"_ it cawed, making Russell back away in fear.

"So now you resort to using your Pokemon for intimidation?" Riley sneered. "Well, four can play at that game! Go, Riolu!" he shouted, tossing a Pokeball of his own.

"Aron, you too!" Steven said, tossing another.

"Gloom, help us out!" Erika commanded, mimicking their moves.

With three more bursts of light, three more Pokemon appeared. One was Erika's Gloom, of course, but the other two were unfamiliar to Russell. Steven's was a small quadruped with a very big head and steel plating all over its body, and Riley's looked like a blue, anthropomorphic puppy.

For a second, Persephone actually looked worried, but that quickly changed.

"Oh, sure," she said. "You're brave when it's three against one!"

"_You_ never play by the rules!" Riley snapped.

"Quite the contrary," Persephone lectured. "I haven't broken a single rule since my arrival. Any Neanderthal can _break _a rule. It takes a higher life form like me to find my way around them. Besides, you weaklings only have a chance when you clump together. I could beat any one of you at any time!"

"Yeah," Vienna agreed. "She'll make lunchmeat out of you!"

"Mincemeat," Persephone corrected.

"Mincemeat!" Vienna repeated.

"Is that a challenge?" Riley growled.

"You know it!" the albino snapped. "Now, which of you wants to get pounded today?"

Steven and Riley both glared, but it was Jose who stepped forward, pointing to himself.

"Oh, he wants to, Pers!" Vienna grinned, pointing to Jose with a long, pink nail.

"I have eyes, Vienna," Persephone said impatiently. "Well," she said, turning to Jose. "I guess I'll have to set an example for my baby bro by plowing _you_ down! I'll see you in the gym in ten minutes. Be there or be dead."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Ten uneventful minutes later…**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Glad to see you showed up," Persephone jeered as Jose entered, with Erika, Riley, Steven, and Russell behind him for support. "I don't like it when my opponents chicken out."

Jose frowned, but said nothing.

"Is the coast clear?" Persephone shouted at the door.

"No teachers anywhere, boss!" Vienna's voice called back.

"Good," Persephone said. "Well, let's choose our Pokemon and get this over with. Go, Charon!"

Persephone threw her Pokeball and her Murkrow once again appeared in a flash of light.

"Good luck facing me down with a school Pokemon," Persephone jeered. "They're not nearly as strong as Charon!"

Jose remained silent and walked up to one of the three tables laden with Pokeballs by the wall next to the door and picked one of them up. He had no idea what was in it, of course, but he could adapt.

Jose tossed the Pokeball into the arena and another Pokemon appeared in a burst of light. It was about two feet tall, and pink, with a wide, vaguely catlike face. Its skinny arms ended with large pincers, and its short legs with clawed feet. There were blue pieces of webbed skin connecting its arms to its torso, and from its rear end protruded a segmented tail ending with a large stinger.

"Cool," Riley commented. "It's a Gligar!"

Jose pulled out his school-issued Pokedex (a small, handheld Pokemon database) and opened it to scan.

"**Gligar,"** it said, displaying a picture of the Pokemon. **"The Flyscorpio Pokemon. These Pokemon make their nests high in trees, and swoop down to catch unsuspecting prey. Its stinger houses a weak poison for this purpose."**

"Perfect!" Steven exclaimed. "Jose's got one that's a natural hunter!"

Jose smiled as he pocketed the computer. True, that was a lucky break, but he knew that before he'd scanned it, anyway. The Pokedex offered much more than that. Much more, indeed. For example, it could also display all the attacks that the school Pokemon knew, and Jose had just memorized all of Gligar's.

"You think I'm gonna lose to _that_?!" Persephone sneered. "As if! Charon, start off with Peck!"

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon cawed, flying at Gligar and jamming its beak into the Flyscorpio Pokemon's forehead.

"Counter with Poison Sting!" Jose suddenly said, taking Russell by surprise. He honestly hadn't been expecting Jose to speak. In fact, when he thought about it, he wasn't sure _how_ he'd expected Jose to command his Pokemon.

"_Gli?"_ Gligar said, bursting out in a smile. _"Gligar!"_

In an instant, Gligar's tail whipped around and struck Charon under its right wing, causing it to howl in pain.

"Now a Metal Claw!" Jose commanded.

Gligar nodded and struck Charon with a glowing pincer, knocking it backwards.

"Lucky shot," Persephone scoffed. "Charon, use Wing Attack!"

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon cawed, flying over and bashing Gligar's head with its wing.

"Hit it with Cut!" Jose ordered.

"_Gli, gligar!"_ Gligar responded, swiping a claw across Charon's face, stunning it.

"Now an Aqua Tail!" the well-dressed boy shouted.

"Aqua Tail?!" everyone else repeated. Nobody knew that Gligar could learn _that_ move, but sure enough, Gligar's tail was surrounded by water as it slammed into Charon, once again knocking the Murkrow back.

"Wow," Riley commented. "This battle's pretty even."

"Be careful, Jose!" Russell warned. "My sister plays dirty!"

"WE KNOW!" Erika, Riley, and Steven shouted.

"So Gligar's great on land," Persephone commented. "Big deal. Let's see how it does against an airborne opponent! Charon," she ordered. "Take flight!"

Charon nodded and pumped its wings to propel itself ten feet into the air.

"Follow it, Gligar!" Jose said.

Gligar nodded and pushed off the floor and into the air. Unlike Charon, though, it didn't remain in one place. Instead, it continued to move forward, and quickly at that.

"Charon, use Peck!" Persephone laughed.

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon said as it flew over and pecked Gligar in the back, sending it crashing back to the floor.

"What just happened?" Riley asked, confused.

"Persephone took advantage of an opponent's weakness," Erika clarified. "Even though Gligar is a Flying-type, it can't actually fly. It just jumps high and glides from place to place, and it's impossible to stay in one place while gliding. Not matter what it does, it's always moving in some direction. It's useful in a wooded area, but in a clear terrain like this, Charon has a big advantage!"

"Gligar," Jose called. "Can you stand?"

"_Gli…gar!"_ Gligar said, slowly getting to its feet.

"Good," Jose said. "Then build up power with Swords Dance!"

"Charon, use Snatch!" Persephone quickly replied.

At once, Gligar began turning its pincers and spinning around, and as it did, an aura of light surrounded it, then compressed itself into a tiny orb that floated up and to be absorbed into Charon's breast.

"Well, that's not good," Steven commented. "Normally a Swords Dance will give all physical attacks a boost, but thanks to that Snatch attack, Charon just stole that power-up for itself!"

"He's right, you know," Persephone said, once again sneering at Jose. "You'll never defeat Charon now."

"Come on, Jose!" Russell rooted. "You can still do it!"

"Oh, shove it, you little freak!" Persephone snapped.

"Hey!" Riley yelled. "Don't talk to my roommate like that!"

"I'll talk to my little brother any way I want," Persephone retorted. "And I'll battle any way I want, too. Now, Charon," she called. "Catch Gligar off-guard with Haze!"

Charon opened its beak and a thick black smoke poured out, obscuring the field from view.

"Now a Wing Attack!" the albino girl ordered.

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon cawed, presumably swooping down for the attack.

"Defog, then Metal Claw!" Jose urged.

In a heartbeat, Gligar was beating its skin flaps and clearing away the smoke, and managed to swat Charon in the belly with a glowing pincer just in time, sending it back into the air.

"Follow it up, Gligar!" Jose commanded.

"_Gligar?"_ Gligar queried, but heeded the command and jumped up, then began moving forward.

"What's Jose doing?" Russell hissed. "He _knows_ that Gligar is totally vulnerable up there!"

"Don't worry about Jose," Steven assured. "He's smart."

"Yeah," Riley agreed. "He's one of the school's best strategists."

"Unfortunately, so is Persephone," Erika reminded.

"This is it, Charon!" Persephone cackled. "Finish it with one more Peck!"

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon shrieked, zooming toward Gligar to deliver the last attack.

To everyone's surprise, Jose remained silent for a few seconds. Then, finally, when Charon was getting dangerously close, he suddenly yelled "Use Swift attack behind you!"

Gligar's response was immediate. It raised its two pincers behind its back and shot a barrage of glowing stars that struck its opponent at point-blank range, seriously injuring it and causing it to crash down to the floor.

"Finish it with Metal Claw!" Jose instructed.

"_Gligar!"_ Gligar said, holding its now-glowing claws out as it swooped down to end the battle.

"Charon, use Shadow Ball, now!" Persephone yelled.

Charon nodded and opened its beak as an orb of dark energy formed within. Unfortunately, the orb was taking a while to grow to attack size, and it wasn't quite round, either. Charon obviously hadn't mastered this attack yet.

"Come on, come on," Persephone said impatiently, loudly tapping her foot against the floor three times. "I haven't got all day!"

Just as Gligar was about to strike, there was a loud banging on the door, followed by Vienna yelling "Guys, teacher!"

Jose and Persephone panicked and recalled their Pokemon just before the collision and glared at each other for a moment until Jose replaced the Pokeball and began to walk out.

"Nice job, Jose!" Steven complimented as they left.

"Yeah," Riley agreed. "You totally had her beat."

Persephone waited until they were all gone, then went out and talked to Vienna.

"What took you so long?" she hissed. "I came _way_ too close to losing there!"

"It took me a minute to remember what your note meant," Vienna apologized, holding up her hands. She wasn't holding them up in apology, though, as many people do, but to display the messages written on them. One her left palm was "3 taps: yell "teacher" written in ballpoint pen. On the other hand was the word "right", so as to help her remember something else important.

"Well, hurry up next time!" Persephone snapped. "We need to be in perfect sync if we're going to escape this prison, and I can't stand missed cues!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A couple of minutes later…**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"And this is your new room," Steven said, opening the door marked 14B after Erika had gone to her own room.

Russell walked in and looked around. Inside was a good-sized room, with two sets of bunk beds, two large chests of drawers, and two sturdy desks with a computer on each and a window above them. Two doors in the back presumably led to a bathroom and a closet, and next to one bed was a couple of familiar suitcases.

"Well, looks like they already delivered your luggage," Riley commented. "You can unpack tonight."

"Is that my bed they're next to?" Russell asked.

Jose shook his head, then pointed to himself, then to the top bunk.

"Oh," Russell realized. "I'm on top?"

Jose nodded.

"Works for me," Russell commented. "You know, I think I'm going to like it here at Pokemon Tech."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(Okay, maybe "Slow Start" was a misnomer, BUT I'M THINKING OF NAMING CHAPTERS AFTER POKEMON ABILITIES, AND THAT WAS THE BEST I COULD COME UP WITH. Still, you liked the chapter, right? I BET I FOOLED YOU INTO THINKING JOSE WAS THE NEW STUDENT, DIDN'T I? Well, I'm full of surprises. And now, I want _you_ to have a part in this story by submitting a student OC! SOUND LIKE FUN? HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED:

**Name: **(SURNAMES ARE OPTIONAL, AS MANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN THIS FIC DON'T HAVE THEM)

**Gender:**

**Appearance: **(What clothes do they wear, what color is their hair, etc.)

**Personality: **(PLEASE put more thought into this than appearance! MAKE THEM INTERESTING! SOME QUIRK. ARE THEY AFRAID OF NEEDLES? Do they refuse to wear sandals? THESE ARE TERRIBLE IDEAS. I'M SURE YOU'LL COME UP WITH SOMETHING MUCH BETTER. Keep it PG, though. REMEMBER, THEY'RE TEN!)

**Pokemon: **(Only one, first-stager only, and NO LEGENDARIES. Also, not a necessity, but IT'D BE GREAT IF THEIR POKEMON MATCHED THEIR PERSONALITY. THAT'S ALWAYS FUN, BUT _PLEASE_ DON'T GIVE ME SOMEONE GRAPPLING WITH A DECISION THAT WILL PAVE THEIR ENTIRE LIFE WHO OWNS AN EEVEE! YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT, PEOPLE!)

**Miscellaneous info: ** (Optional part. JUST IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY ABOUT THEM, SUCH AS A SPECIAL BATTLE STYLE, OR ANYTHING, REALLY.)

Here's an example of what it should look like, using a one-time character that will come up later:

**Name: **Templeton

**Gender: **Male

**Appearance: **A very boring brown suit, brown bowler hat over neatly combed straight brown hair, piercing brown eyes, and highly polished brown shoes. HE ALSO CARRIES A GOLD POCKET WATCH THAT HE CHECKS EVERY FEW MINUTES.

**Personality: **Highly punctual and impatient. HE DESPISES BEING LEFT WAITING. He's also a big stickler for the rules, hating it when anyone gets off without punishment.

**Pokemon: **Hoothoot (which has a flawless internal clock)

**Miscellaneous info: **Templeton specializes in repeating attacks (Fury Attack, Bullet Seed, etc.), and constantly times them for regularity.

Good enough for you? I HOPE SO. YOU CAN SUBMIT AS MAY OCS AS YOU LIKE, BUT I CAN'T GUARANTEE THEY'LL BE USED. Still, I'll use as many as I can, and I hope I can use them well. THEY WON'T POP UP FOR A WHILE, THOUGH, AS I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS. Still, when they come, they'll keep coming like bullets from a machine gun, SO DON'T WORRY!

Well, I'm glad I'm back, and I HOPE YOU'RE GLAD FOR THE SAME REASON. ON ONE FINAL NOTE, if it's not too much to ask, could you slip an actual review in with the OC idea? I'VE SEEN PEOPLE DO THAT A LOT WITH THIS KIND OF FIC. Thanks!


	2. Unaware

(And I'm back! CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN! HOPE YOU ENJOYED THAT LAST CHAPTER—I KNOW I ENJOYED WRITING IT. Well, here's the next one! Enjoy!)

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Dog Days of Pokemon Tech**

**Chapter Two: Unaware**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Oh, no," Erika warned, taking a bite of her salad. "Here comes Persephone."

Russell gulped and hid under the table. Since he'd arrived a few days ago, his sister had just kept finding new ways to torment him! For the last few days, Persephone had been purposely walking by his table at every meal, just so she could "accidentally" spill food on him.

Persephone walked by his spot and observed his absence, then sighed and placed a strong kick under the table, causing Russell to howl in pain, then do it again when he jumped up and hit his head.

"Like I didn't notice your tray," she said, rolling her pink eyes as she walked away.

"Man," Russell complained, rubbing his head as he crawled out and reclaimed his seat. "I just can't avoid her!"

Jose reached over and patted him on the back sympathetically.

"Jose's right," Steven agreed, slurping up his spaghetti. "You'll find a way to cope."

"Persephone tortures everybody from time to time," Roxanne assured, before taking a bite of garlic bread. "You just have to learn to ignore it."

"Trust us," Erika said. "We're her roommates."

"Yeah," Russell argued. "But she's singling me out 'cuz she thinks I got her sent here!"

Everybody suddenly took a drink and went silent.

"I knew you'd do that," Russell sighed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Over at the other end of the cafeteria, Persephone was just sitting down with her own clique.

"So, Archie," she asked one of her regulars. "What're the new roommates like?"

"Total dweebs," Archie responded, stabbing a meatball. "I can tell they're gonna slow us down if they join."

"They use land Pokemon, don't they?" Maxie sneered.

"Duh!" Archie replied.

"Let's not fight, guys," Persephone said. "We need to make plans. The big test is going to be announced after lunch, and we need to be sure that this escape plan will go off without a hitch!"

"Relax, Pers," Vienna said. "I already passed the money to our inside help, so I've done my part."

"And the rest of you?" Persephone asked.

"We're ready to keep away our biggest pests," Archie answered.

"We'll plant everything when the assignment comes around," Maxie added.

"Perfect," Persephone laughed. "By next week, we'll be long gone!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After lunch, everyone who was just named (and many who weren't) gathered outside by the garden for the next class: Outdoor Skills.

"Welcome, everyone," said the teacher, Ms. Goyal, a short Hindi woman. "I trust you are prepared for tomorrow's test. As you are aware, sooner or later you will be going on journeys of your own, and will need to be able to survive and navigate in the wilderness when you do.

"Now, you have all been assigned partners with whom you will work together on the test, and a satchel containing everything you will need. You are, of course, allowed to bring your Pokemon. If you do not have a Pokemon, you may choose a school one at random.

"Tomorrow morning, you will all get on the bus and be taken to the other side of the surrounding forest, where you will have until sundown to make it back to the school. Are there any questions?"

Nobody said anything.

"Good," Ms. Goyal said. "You may now examine the partner list."

Everybody rushed over to find out their partner on a sheet of paper pinned to the wall.

"Uh-oh," Steven groaned. "I'm with Maxie."

"Consider yourself lucky," Roxanne said, looking crestfallen. "I've got Vienna."

Her friends winced and tried to console her, but, just out of earshot, Persephone, holding up an umbrella to protect her skin, pulled Vienna aside.

"I thought you gave our insider the list and told him to copy it exactly!" she snarled.

"I did!" Vienna insisted. "He said nobody would put us together!"

Persephone growled and dropped her roommate, but then nodded her head. "He's right," she agreed, moving over to the list. "Well, who's my partner, then?"

"My new roommate," Archie told her. "His name's Jason."

"That's right," said a voice behind him.

Everyone turned and watched as a medium-height boy stepped out from behind Archie's broad form. He had dark, tanned skin, and his face suggested a lot of determination. His clothing was a pair of black pants and a grey hooded sweatshirt covered in claw markings whose hood was pulled far over his head.

"Well, _Jason_," Persephone said, with more than a hint of condescension. "Here's an extra survival tip: During this test, and for the rest of your life, _don't make me mad!_ Then maybe, just maybe, you'll live through it."

"I'm not afraid of you!" the boy snapped, causing Archie, Maxie, and Vienna's eyes to go wide, waiting for Persephone to hit him.

To their surprise, she didn't.

"Oh, trust me," she smirked. "You will."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning, everyone gathered at their usual tables for breakfast and casual conversation.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Steven said. "Three of us got matched up with the most mega-annoying people ever?"

Jose and Roxanne nodded.

"And two of us majorly lucked out?"

"Yep," Russell and Erika replied.

"Pretty lucky you two got each other, huh?" Riley smirked, elbowing Russell playfully.

"Cut it out!" Russell muttered back, blushing.

"Well, I still don't know where I stand," Riley told the group. "I don't even know my partner. It's one of the new guys. His name's Adrian."

"_You're_ Riley?" said a voice at the end of the table. "Oh, good. I've been asking every guy I ran into 'til now!"

The group turned and saw a boy standing at the end of the table. He was a short one, with dark brown hair and big eyes, and he was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt with tribal markings all over it, with an amber amulet hanging around his neck. What everybody really saw, though, was that his right arm was in a sling.

"Yeah, that's me," Riley said, getting up to shake the boy's left hand. "You ready for the test?"

"Pretty much," the boy replied. "Sorry I wasn't there earlier, by the way. My roommate Archie must've accidentally given me wrong directions."

"Yeah," Steven said. "'Accidentally'."

"Here's some advice for you," Erika told him. "Archie isn't the type to haze the new guy. He either likes you and treats you well, or he doesn't. From now on, don't listen to him."

"Yeah," Russell agreed. "And even worse is—oh, no, here she comes!"

Everyone stared as Persephone came by for her tri-daily routine, but, to their surprise, she ignored Russell completely and kept walking, grumbling to herself as she did. Then, suddenly, she turned to a boy in a grey hooded sweatshirt at another table and "accidentally" dropped her opened milk carton on him.

The boy's reaction was lightning-fast. Before the carton could even turn over in midair, he snatched it and tossed it back at Persephone, drenching her already pale face.

The room tensed as everybody waited for a fight, but, once again, they were surprised. Persephone just scowled at him and kept walking, finally sitting down with Vienna, Archie, and Maxie.

"Who was _that_?" Roxanne gaped.

"Him?" Adrian asked, pointing at the boy in the sweatshirt. "That's Jason, another of my roommates. He's new here, too. Nice guy, but really private."

"Brave, too," Erika commented. "Or at least really crazy to do _that_ to Persephone."

"_That's_ Persephone?!" Adrian exclaimed. "My roommates told me about her. She sounds scary."

"That's why you should avoid her at all costs," Russell said.

"Thanks," Adrian told him. "I'll keep that in mind."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

An hour later, everyone gathered outside in front of the bus to hear the rules of their test from Ms. Goyal.

"All right, everyone, here is your assignment," she announced. "Soon you will board this bus, which will take you to various spots on the other side of the forest beside the academy. You will then have to maneuver your way back to the school using your wits, your Pokemon, and what is contained in your assigned rucksacks.

"By the way," she said. "Would one of you please pass out the rucksacks?"

"I'll do it, ma'am," Maxie said, raising his hand. Quickly, he walked over to the bags and began passing them out to the students—being sure to surreptitiously give eight specific people the ones marked with tiny, different-colored patches too small to see without searching for them.

"Inside of these are basic equipment for travel," Ms. Goyal continued. "These things include a map, a compass, rope, basic rations, a canteen of water, and a Potion for emergencies.

"Now, there are a couple more rules I must mention," she added, pulling out two items—a flare gun and a beeping ankle bracelet with a hinge. "First of all, you are not to start until I fire this flare, and second, you are all to wear one of these," the teacher instructed, holding up the ankle bracelet.

"What's it for?" Adrian inquired.

"It's a tracker," Persephone snarled, glaring at the device. "They use it to make sure we don't escape."

"Maybe if _some people_ were more trustworthy they wouldn't need them!" Jason snapped, throwing a glare at Persephone.

"Enough!" Ms. Goyal said, glaring at both of them. As all the students knew, Ms Goyal, though short, had a glare that could stop a feuding Seviper and Zangoose. "These trackers _are_ to track escaped students, yes, but their main purpose is to detect the lost ones who can't make their way back. It even has a distress signal for emergencies. Now, everybody come and put one on. And you are _not_ to remove your tracker for _any_ reason!" she added, glaring at Persephone as the students came up and fastened on their bracelets.

"And for one more warning," Ms. Goyal said. "I must warn you that there are dangerous Pokemon in some parts of the forest, but those parts are clearly marked on the map. Avoid them and you should be fine.

"Now," she finished. "Is everyone ready?"

All the students nodded.

"Then you may board the bus."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The ride was a relatively short one of only an hour or so, but that was still plenty of time to talk, and since partners weren't forced to sit together, Persephone's clique gathered in the back and did just that.

"So, everything's been planted?" Persephone asked.

"Yep," Archie said smugly. "I planted 'em all last night. Those pests are all in for a big surprise!"

"And you're sure they all got the right rucksacks?" their leader queried.

"Positive," Maxie replied. "I passed 'em all out myself. So unless Archie mislabeled 'em—and I wouldn't put it past him—they're all in the right place."

Persephone smiled. "Good," she said, sounding very pleased. "Now, let's go over our plan. Maxie, Archie?"

"As soon as my little…surprise happens, I'll ditch Steven and meet up with you at the spot you told me about," Maxie said, getting a nod from Persephone in response.

"And I ditch Jose and meet you as soon as I can," Archie sniggered. "His trick is _not_ one to stick around for!"

"Good," Persephone laughed. "And Vienna, since I can barely trust you to remember your own name, let alone follow a map to a certain spot, I have a much simpler plan for you. You ready?"

Vienna paused, then nodded. "Let me hear it."

"Okay," Persephone said, taking a breath. "Here goes: Get away from Roxanne as soon as possible, and I'll send Charon to find you. So, when you see the big black birdie that won't leave you alone, follow it. Got it?"

"Got it!" Vienna said with a smile.

Then, five seconds later, she asked. "Wait, what do I do again?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Two by two, the sets of partners were dropped off in various places on the other side of the forest, and, minutes after the last group arrived, a flare was fired into the air within the vicinity of the school, signaling them to start. Now, since all of these groups are apart, it would be impossible for me to tell you about what happened to all of them at once, so this part of the story must come in pieces. Let's start with Jose and Archie.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"…So, obviously, Pokemon of the sea are way better than land Pokemon," Archie ranted. "I mean, you must know that. Water-types are your dad's specialty!"

Jose just sighed, checked his compass and map, and kept moving.

"Oh, the silent act, huh?" Archie sneered, apparently forgetting that Jose wasn't known for his gift of gab. "Well, two can play at that game!"

Jose couldn't help but smile as Archie moved behind him and stopped talking. It was actually relaxing not to hear the bandana-wearer's voice. In fact, Jose was so relaxed that it was a good long time before he turned around and saw that Archie was gone. Still, he wasn't worried for any reason. Archie didn't like him, anyway, so it made perfect sense that he'd run off, and both boys could survive on their own. Besides, a person didn't have to finish the test with their partner. It was just for added protection.

He'd just do this on his own.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Oh, my feet hurt!" Vienna complained. "How long have we been walking, anyway?"

"Four minutes," Roxanne replied, checking her watch. "You know, you really shouldn't've worn high heels for this…especially since normal ten-year-olds don't wear them for _anything_!"

"Well, excuse me for having fashion sense!" Vienna snapped. "Here's a tip: No matter what season, no matter what year, grey is _never_ in!"

"Oh, yeah?" Roxanne countered. "Here's a tip for you: Keep quiet if you want to survive this test!"

With that, Roxanne checked her compass and map. She was going almost exactly south, so she needed to turn right a little to travel westward toward the academy, as it is with a compass.

She was surprised to find Vienna gone without a trace when she beckoned for her to come.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

If Roxanne had a bad relationship with her partner, that was nothing compared to Persephone and Jason. After less than a day, their mutual hatred was already reaching a boiling point.

"What's with that umbrella, anyway?" Jason asked, in a very rude manner. "There isn't a cloud in the sky!"

"That's exactly why I have it, moron!" the girl snarled. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm an albino! We don't do well in the sun!"

"Really?" Jason said with a smirk. Then, quick as a flash, he snatched it from her!

"Hey!" Persephone shouted. "Give that back!"

"Try and take it!" her partner laughed.

Persephone growled, then stomped on his foot as hard as she could. When he recoiled in pain, she snatched her umbrella back, folded it down, and repeatedly beat him about the head, arms, and stomach, finally knocking him into a tree.

Unfortunately for both of them, something tumbled out of the tree's branches. Actually, there were three somethings—small, white, squirrel-like Pokemon with yellow cheeks, blue ears, and a blue stripe down the center of the tail. They would've been cute if they didn't look so angry.

"Wh-what're those?" Jason asked, holding up his Pokedex.

"**Pachirisu,"** the computer said, displaying a picture of the Pokemon, though the image looked much more docile. **"The EleSquirrel Pokemon. These Pokemon reside in trees and feed on seeds and berries. Because of their adorable appearance, many people keep them as pets."**

"They don't look so cute right now!" Jason objected.

Persephone leapt back and pulled out her Pokeball.

"Charon, protect us!" she commanded, throwing the Pokeball and causing her Murkrow to appear in a burst of light.

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon said, staring down the Pachirisu, who met it glare-for-glare.

"Hit 'em with Wing Attack!" Persephone ordered.

Charon nodded and flew in to strike one of the electric squirrels with its wing, but the creatures were too fast for it. The target Pachirisu ducked out of the way, and the other two struck Charon from behind by tackling it with a Spark attack, followed by the one that had dodged striking from behind with a Quick Attack!

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon howled, falling backwards as the three Pachirisu surrounded it, their cheeks sparking in preparation for a Thundershock attack to finish Charon off.

"Three against one's hardly a fair fight," Jason commented, pulling out a Pokeball of his own. "Go, Cubone!"

Jason threw his Pokeball and yet another Pokemon appeared. This one resembled a humanoid gopher with a white animal skull over its head and a bone in its hand.

If the Pachirisu knew about this new Pokemon in their midst, they chose to ignore it. They just proceeded to launch their combined Thundershock, but, instead of hitting Charon, the attacks all zoomed around into Cubone's bone, for which Cubone took no damage.

"Now, Cubone, use Sandstorm!" Jason ordered.

"_Cubone-bone!"_ his Pokemon declared, swiping its bone against the ground to send a wave of sand over the three Pachirisu.

"_Pachipachi!"_ shouted the Pachirisu that seemed to be the leader.

"_Pasu!"_ the other two agreed.

At once, all three of the electric rodents ran at Cubone with their Quick Attacks, splitting apart and coming at it from all directions.

"Fight 'em off with Bone Club!" Jason urged.

"_Cubone,"_ Cubone replied, raising its bone high. _"Cu-bone!"_

The Pachirisu were fast, but Cubone's reflexes were just as good. Whenever one got near, Cubone moved over to dodge and struck it in the back with its weapon. After several hits, two of the Pachirisu were out cold, but their leader still remained, and was madder than ever. Even worse, Cubone had suffered a few attacks due to the Pachirisus' good teamwork, and was just plain exhausted from all that dodging.

"_Pachi, pachi!"_ the boss Pachirisu shouted, rushing in to finish Cubone off.

"Shadow Ball, Charon!" Persephone suddenly shouted.

Persephone and Charon (who'd been lying unnoticed for a while now) must've practiced recently, because the ball that formed in Charon's mouth was both large and perfectly round.

"_Murk!"_ Charon shouted, firing the large and perfectly round ball at the Pachirisu, knocking it out just before it could reach Cubone.

Both trainers heaved a big sigh as they went over to their Pokemon. Persephone quickly reached into her bag and pulled out the Potion provided for the test, swiftly administering it to Charon's wounds.

"Nice work, Charon," she complimented. "You finally did it! Now, can you still go through the plan?"

"_Murkrow,"_ Charon responded, taking flight and leaving the area.

Once Charon had left, Persephone turned over to her partner, who was digging through his rucksack, trying to find his Potion.

"It's not in here!" he exclaimed, throwing up his arms.

Persephone paused and thought. She had reached her intended plan. She could ditch him right now and get to the meeting area while Jason was waiting for Cubone to heal the slow way!

But…he had saved her and Charon…

Then again, she _had_ repaid that favor…

But still…

Persephone sighed and walked over to Jason and Cubone.

"Here," she said, handing him the rest of her Potion. "Use mine."

Jason stared at her, but finally got one word out.

"Thanks."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Okay," Russell said, staring at the map, then the trees in front of him. "That must be the Aspear grove, so we go east, right?"

"Right," Erika replied with a smile.

Russell didn't think he could've been luckier. Not only did having Erika as a partner practically guarantee an A, but he got to spend the whole day alone with her! He was currently debating with himself about whether or not he should try to hold her hand…

"Are you okay?" Erika asked, looking at his blushing face.

"Uh, yeah," he replied, though maybe a little too quickly. "Are you thirsty? I'm kind of thirsty."

"Now that you mention it, my mouth _is_ a little dry," she responded. "I think we can afford to drink some of our water. There's a stream not far from here where we can refill."

Both kids pulled their canteens out of their rucksacks and took a long sip, quenching their thirst.

Ten minutes later, both of them began suffering from bad stomach pains, and they kept getting worse.

"Be right back!" the two partners yelled at each other, running off in opposite directions to…attend to something.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Steven wasn't faring well, either. Maxie wasn't as talkative as usual today, but he _was_ being a control freak. The instant the test started, he yanked out his map and compass and insisted that he lead. That wasn't all that bad, as Maxie wasn't really directing him so much as rudely telling him which way to walk, but now Steven was sure they were lost.

"I'm telling you," Steven insisted. "We were supposed to turn _left_ at the Ledyba nest!"

"Look," Maxie snapped. "If you'd like to lead the way, be my guest! We'll be lost in fifteen minutes with you in charge!"

Steven growled as he opened his bag and pulled out his map and compass. He didn't notice the smirk on Maxie's face as he did. Why should he?

Suddenly, before Steven could even close the bag, he heard sounds. All sorts of sounds. Buzzing, wingbeats, rapid footsteps—and all of them getting louder!

At once, dozens of hungry-looking Pokemon of all shapes and sizes burst out through the trees, quickly advancing on Steven! He screamed, picked a direction, and ran! He'd find out where he'd gone when he'd gotten away.

Still, Steven couldn't run forever. After only a few minutes, he began to slow down, but these Pokemon showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. He had to think of something, and fast!

In a second, Steven had an idea.

"Aron," he shouted, tossing his Pokeball. "Use Roar!"

In a burst of light, Steven's Pokemon appeared, took a deep breath, and let loose an ear-piercing roar.

The wild Pokemon all scattered, terrified.

"Nice work, Aron," Steven said as he recalled his Pokemon, then tried to catch his breath as he looked at his map. He didn't have much time, though, as it wasn't more than a minute before the sounds started up again…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Riley and Adrian, on the other hand, took considerably longer to find their nasty surprises, which actually weren't all that nasty. After a couple of hours of walking, the two opened their rucksacks to find that their rations were missing.

"Great," Adrian grumbled. "We're stuck here without food for the rest of the day."

"Chill, man," Riley reassured. "I'll bet this is part of the test. We just have to find it on our own. There's plenty of it growing out here."

"I can see that," Adrian said, looking at the map. "But the groves are either completely out of the way or in the most dangerous spots!"

"Calm down," Riley said, rolling his eyes. "There are plenty of wild berry trees that _aren't_ on the map. Look, we'll just split up to look for some, stock up, and meet back here. You can handle that, right?"

Adrian's face suddenly changed from doubt to sheer determination, and perhaps a little anger.

"I can do anything," he said, throwing his rucksack over his back.

"Good," Riley replied. "We'll meet back here as soon as we can."

Adrian nodded and walked off. He searched for any fruit-bearing tree he could find. Eventually, he came across just what he needed: An Oran berry tree.

Adrian's mouth began to water as he stared at the round, blue berries he knew were so rich in juice and flavor, but, try as he might, he just couldn't seem to reach one.

After a couple of minutes of jumping, Adrian came up with an idea. Using the hand that wasn't in a sling, he grabbed the Pokeball off of his belt and lightly threw it.

"Cranidos," he called. "Help me out!"

In a flash of light, a small Pokemon resembling a grey, two-legged dinosaur with a big, hard head appeared.

"_Crani?"_ it asked, wondering why it had been called.

"Hey, buddy," Adrian greeted. "Can you use your Headbutt to shake down some of those berries?"

"_Crani, cranidos!"_ his Pokemon replied, just before it began bashing its rock-hard head against the tree trunk.

As Adrian predicted, the Oran berries began to fall out of the tree. Unfortunately, they weren't the only things to do so—half a dozen yellow, bee-like Pokemon dropped from its foliage, each of them with a large stinger on its abdomen, an even bigger white one on each of its front legs, and a fierce expression in its red eyes.

"Beedrill?!" Adrian screamed. The Pokemon must've been nesting right within their food source!

Adrian began to panic. Cranidos and Beedrill are both best suited for close combat, and Cranidos _would_ normally have the advantage there, but not when it was so outnumbered. The boy wasted no time in recalling his Pokemon and running off at top speed with the Beedrill in hot pursuit.

Luckily, Adrian didn't have to run as long or as far as Steven. While running, he chanced to see another boy ahead and called for help. The boy turned, saw the Beedrill, and swiftly pulled out a Pokeball.

"Numel," the boy shouted. "Scare them away with Ember!"

As expected, another Pokemon appeared in a flash of light, this one resembling a short, yellow camel with a large hump and a dazed look on its face.

"_Numel?"_ it asked, looking confused until it saw the Beedrill and shot a barrage of glowing embers over Adrian's head.

The Beedrill buzzed in fright as the embers hit them, then, terrified, they scattered.

"Thank you," Adrian panted, trying to catch his breath as he got a better look at his savior and panicked inside. It was the boy in the red hoodie—the same one who had been eating with Archie and Persephone!

"Whatever," Maxie replied, staring at Adrian as he recalled his Numel. "Hey, aren't you Archie's new roommate?"

"Um…yeah," Adrian said nervously.

"Archie has no respect for you," Maxie told him, shaking his head. "Which means you're okay in my book. Archie doesn't appreciate good people like I do. Nice to meet you," he said, smiling and extending a hand. "I'm Maxie."

"Adrian," Adrian said, accepting the handshake with his good hand.

"Well, you better get back to your partner," Maxie told him. "I can't be babysitting you all day. I've got somewhere to be."

"Where's _your_ partner?" Adrian asked.

Maxie paused for a minute, thinking.

"Do you want to be here at Pokemon Tech?" he finally asked, taking Adrian by surprise.

Now was Adrian's turn to stop and think.

"Well, I like the _people_ here," he said weakly.

"That wasn't my question," Maxie replied.

Adrian blinked, then frowned.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I don't want to be here. My parents sent me here instead of letting me go on a journey. They never let me do anything fun! I'm stuck here 'til I graduate and qualify for the Pokemon League, and then they'll coop me up at home 'til then, and then I'll lose in the first round from lack of experience! I'll be trapped in a loop forever!"

Maxie suddenly broke out laughing.

"Stick with me, kid," he choked out. "We'll go places."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, Jose's troubles had just escalated a hundredfold. After two hours of wandering, he found himself in a much warmer area full of much more tropical trees, and on and around these trees were—were they? Yes, Weepinbell! And if these yellow, bell-shaped Grass-types were congregating here, then…

Jose gulped and backed away as quickly as his feet would carry him…until he bumped into something.

Nervously, Jose turned his head to see this obstacle, then squeaked in fear and turned back around. It was just as he had feared—a Victreebel! This larger, fiercer evolved form of Weepinbell was quite easily the one thing in the world that scared Jose the most. In his short life, he had encountered a Victreebel no less than four times, and during each of those, something terrible and/or painful had happened to him. Half of them had tried to eat him! It didn't matter if they were wild or trained, either. All Victreebel seemed to be against him.

Fear-stricken, Jose prayed that this Victreebel hadn't noticed him. No such luck. With a loud screech, the Flycatcher Pokemon leapt at Jose and pinned him to a nearby tree, then, saliva (or possibly digestive acid) dripping from its round mouth, it pounced to seize a meal fit for a king.

Jose closed his eyes and waited for the end, only to hear a crashing sound. Carefully, he opened his eyes to find another Victreebel fighting with the first. It wanted this meal, too.

The sound of the battle caught the attention of even more Victreebel. At once, at least twenty more of them emerged from the trees and joined in the fray—all of them eager for such fresh meat.

Now, Jose may have been scared, but he knew better than to stay put. He took advantage of his time and made a run for it, but before he could make it even three steps, four Weepinbell shot out their tendrils and bound him to a tree with their Wrap attack, holding him until their superiors reached a decision.

Once again Jose gulped in fright. There was no way the teachers could reach him in time, even _with_ the trackers! If he didn't do something, he'd be in a Victreebel's digestive tract by sundown!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(Whew! LOTTA TYPING THERE! WELL, WHAT'D YOU THINK? I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IN THE FORM OF A NICE, LONG REVIEW. OC's are appreciated, but not required there. SUBMIT ONE IF YOU LIKE, THOUGH. I COULD USE MORE. Speaking of OC's, Jason and Adrian were created by Cyberwolf101 members Tiger and Wolf, respectively. THANKS, GUYS! WELL, LET THE REVIEWS ROLL IN, IF YOU PLEASE! Thanks!

Oh, and one more thing: SHOULD I BRING BACK THE POKEMON IN-DEPTH? TELL ME IN THE REVIEW!)


	3. Hustle

(Back again! I KNOW YOU'RE CRAVING THE ENDING FOR LAST CHAPTER'S CLIFFHANGER, SO HERE IT IS! ENJOY!)

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Dog Days of Pokemon Tech**

**Chapter Three: Hustle**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Russell and Erika had barely moved at all. Sure, every once in a while they'd start trekking again, but it was never more than ten minutes before one or both of them had to stop again. And that wasn't even the worst part—the pains in their stomachs just never seemed to quit! It was like somebody was stabbing them with a dagger from the inside!

"What's happening to us?" Russell moaned, pulling his pants back up and walking out from behind the tree.

"I don't know," Erika said, her voice stretched by pain. "We might've gotten food poisoning from the cafeteria. I hope that's not it—poisoning the whole school and then dumping them in the woods? The school will be shut down in a week! I know misery loves company, but…"

"I hear ya," Russell told her. "Even with Persephone here, this school's easily the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Despite the pain, the two of them smiled warmly.

"On the bright side," Erika joked. "I think we're empty."

The two of them began to laugh, but that was quickly drowned out by a medley of other sounds—footsteps, wingbeats, buzzing, squawking. Oh, and screaming. Lots and lots of screaming.

In a few seconds, Steven burst through the foliage, quickly taking notice of his two friends and yelling "Help! They won't stop chasing me!"

Erika opened her mouth to ask what Steven meant, but the unasked question answered itself. Within seconds, a swarm of Pokemon of all kinds came chasing after him. Erika instinctively reached for her Pokeball and tossed it.

"Gloom," she instructed. "Get rid of these Pokemon!"

Erika, Russell, and Steven held their noses as Gloom appeared and emitted another foul-smelling brown cloud that caused the wild Pokemon to leave in fright.

"Thanks," Steven said, breathing heavily despite the fact that the air smelled like a septic tank. "They'll be back, though."

"Why were they chasing you, anyway?" Russell inquired.

"I don't know!" Steven snapped. "One minute I'm getting out my map and compass, the next I'm being chased! They just won't stay away, either! Aron's scared 'em off with its Roar four times now! They just keep coming back! I haven't even had time to close up my bag!"

Then an idea hit Erika.

"Steven," she said. "Let me see your rucksack."

Steven obliged and Erika began to rummage through the bag, finally pulling out a bottle filled with a pale yellow liquid.

"Essence of Sweet Honey?!" Steven exclaimed. "No wonder they've been chasing me! That stuff drives wild Pokemon nuts!"

"Three guesses how that got in there," Russell moaned as Erika sealed up the bottle.

"Persephone," the three kids growled in unison.

"Come to think of it," Russell added. "I'll bet she's the reason we're sick, too. She probably spiked our water with laxatives or something."

"But why would Persephone go to all this trouble?" Erika asked. "I mean, I know she enjoys others' suffering, but it still seems like a lot of work."

"Isn't it obvious?" Steven asked. "What's she been trying to do since she came here?"

Erika gasped. "She's trying to escape!" she realized. "We've got to stop her!"

"We will," Steven assured. "But to do it, we'll need you guys at your best, and a little help."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"…And he still has the nerve to say that sea Pokemon are better than land Pokemon!" Maxie exclaimed. "Can you believe him!"

"You know," Adrian said with a shrug. "It seems like if it wasn't for that disagreement, you guys could be really good friends."

To his surprise, Maxie turned around and punched him. Hard. Adrian had the wind knocked out of him and fell to the ground.

"_Never_ say that!" Maxie snarled. "Now come on."

Whimpering slightly, Adrian pulled himself up and kept following Maxie, eventually coming to a spot by the river where two other people were waiting, as well as Persephone's Murkrow, right as planned.

Seeing Vienna and Archie together made Maxie's blood boil. While he'd been getting to know the new guy (which, admittedly, he'd enjoyed…), Archie had been making time with Vienna!

"Look, he finally shows up," Archie told Vienna, before turning to see Adrian. "What's _he_ doing here?" he demanded.

"He wants out, too," Maxie said. "I'm taking him with us."

"Persephone's not gonna like this," Vienna warned.

"Eh, let her complain," Maxie shrugged. "We'll be out of here soon, anyway. Besides, if he turns on us, we can just tie him up and leave him in a ditch somewhere."

"I still say she won't be happy," Vienna told him.

"Persephone's never happy," Maxie sighed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Persephone certainly wasn't happy now, that was for sure. Frankly, her exact mood was hard to place. It was a mixture of rage, confusion, and arousal.

"…So, being the half-hearted creep he is, he dumped me here," Jason told her. "Can't say I'm enjoying it much."

"Oh, boo-hoo!" Persephone said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So he doesn't care! My whole _family_ doesn't appreciate me! I'm way smarter than any of them, and all they want me to be is a police officer like them! Why would I want to uphold the law, anyway? Weaseling my way through it is much more fun. And now, just for trying to _show_ them how smart I can be, they send me here and lock me up tighter than Hannibal Lector!"

"So that's why you're planning an escape today?" Jason asked with a smile.

Persephone's eyes went wide.

"How'd you know?" she demanded.

"Lucky guess," the boy grinned. "I won't tell if you take me."

Persephone glared at him, but then bent down and pulled something out of her sock—a small, silver key.

"What's that?" Jason asked her.

"A master key," Persephone replied. "I took it from one of my aunts. She still doesn't know where it went! Now, hold out your ankle."

Jason did as he was told, and Persephone quickly unlocked his tracker, removed it, and tossed it aside.

"Ms. Goyal said we can't remove these," Jason said. "I thought you didn't break rules."

"She said 'you are not to remove your tracker for any reason'," the pale girl quoted. "I choose to interpret that so we can't remove our own. But if we remove each other's trackers…" she smirked, handing Jason the key and sticking out her leg.

"Clever," he said, taking her tracker and throwing it away. "But why go to so much trouble? With that key, you could just unlock the school's front door and walk out."

"Any idiot can do _that_," she told him. "I don't just want to get away. I'm trying to establish a reputation."

Jason stared at her long and hard. Then, suddenly, he blurted something out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Okay," Steven said, pointing to a bunch of trees. "There's the Lum grove. Those berries should cure your stomachache."

Russell and Erika couldn't have gotten to the trees faster. Eagerly, they began gulping the small, green fruit down five at a time until they felt better.

"Thank goodness that's over," Russell sighed.

Erika wasn't listening, though. Off in the distance, she could hear two voices. Two familiar voices. Two familiar, arguing voices.

"I'm telling you, it's _this _way!" one of them shouted.

"And I'm telling _you _we went that way before!" the other voice countered. "We've been going around in circles for half an hour!"

"Well, it's better than standing here!" the first one insisted. "This is an emergency!"

"I know," the second voice pleaded. "But we're not helping anyone by getting ourselves lost!"

Erika jumped to her feet and ran to the sources of the voices with Steven and Russell close behind. Just as she thought, there were Riley and Roxanne, arguing about something.

"Hey, guys," Steven greeted. "Having fun?"

Riley and Roxanne stopped their arguing and turned to their friends.

"Hey," Riley said. "What're you doing down here?"

Steven and Russell explained what had happened to them since the test had started.

"Another escape attempt?" Roxanne groaned. "Great, that makes two emergencies to deal with!"

"Two?!" Russell repeated. "What's the other?"

"A Rattata brought us this," Roxanne replied, holding up a school-issue Pokedex (it was just then that Russell, Erika, and Steven noticed the small purple Rat Pokemon with big buck teeth by Roxanne's feet). "Check it out," she said, flipping it open.

"**I'm Dex-ter,"** it said, displaying a picture of Jose. **"A fully-automated Pokemon database belonging to one Jose of Sootopolis City. If lost of stolen, I cannot be replaced."**

"Okay, a Rattata stole Jose's Pokedex for some reason," Steven said. "I think our problem takes priority!"

"That's what we thought at first," Riley said. "Then we saw its word processor. Show 'em, Roxanne."

Roxanne hit a few buttons and a typed message appeared on the screen. It read as follows:

**HELP! TRAPPD VICTREEBEL**

"Victreebel?!" Erika exclaimed. "He's in the Victreebel nest?! That's the most dangerous part of the whole forest!"

"I know," Riley said. "He sent the Rattata the school gave him for help. Thanks to its Run Away ability, it was able to get to us. We've got to save him!"

"Which leads to our current dilemma," Roxanne said. "I've been going around in circles all day! We just can't seem to get anywhere we want to go!"

"Let me try," Steven said, pulling out his map and compass. "I'll get us there in no time."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Ten minutes later…**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"The Lum grove?!" Steven exclaimed. "How'd we get back here?"

"This has been happening to me all day," Roxanne said, pulling out her Pokeball. "It's time to try a more reliable method. Go, Nosepass!"

Roxanne threw the Pokeball and a Pokemon appeared in a flash of light, this one resembling a big grey face with a giant orange nose protruding out.

"_Nosepass,"_ it said in a stiff voice.

"Nosepass, point us north!" Roxanne commanded.

At once, Nosepass turned and pointed its nose in Roxanne's direction—just like the compass she was holding out.

"What is going on?" she asked, beginning to pace in confusion. "I _know_ that's not north!"

Then, she noticed that Nosepass continued to turn as she moved. She stepped left. Nosepass' face followed her. She went right. Nosepass did, too. She jumped. Nosepass' nose still went with her.

An idea hit Roxanne. Angrily, she reached into her bag and pulled something out—a powerful magnet.

"Persephone," she growled, chucking the magnet as far as she could so as to get it out of the compasses' ranges.

"Hold on," Riley said. "That could come in handy later."

He pulled out his Pokeball and released his Riolu to retrieve it, then recalled Riolu and the magnet into the Pokeball.

"At least we're on track," Steven said. "Now, let's get to that Victreebel nest!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Half an hour later…**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I think I see him," Russell whispered.

"Where?" Steven asked.

"Over there," Riley told him. "Up against that tree, see?"

And Jose was indeed there, still bound to the tree by the four Weepinbell.

"He's not moving!" Russell exclaimed, though quite quietly.

"I think he's passed out," Erika explained. "I don't blame him. He's in a pretty scary place."

"But where are all the Victreebel?" Roxanne asked, looking around.

"I think I can see a whole bunch in the distance," Steven said, squinting to get a good look. "I think they're battling. Either that or dancing."

And so they were (battling, I mean). The Victreebel were still fighting over dinner. A few of them were clearly out of commission, but at least ten were still going strong and showing no sign of stopping.

"So, what, we just run in, grab Jose, and leave?" Riley inquired. "I think we can take those Weepinbell if we work together."

"I don't think we could do that without attracting the Victreebels' attention," Roxanne replied. "Erika, think Gloom can keep them away?"

"I doubt it," Erika told her. "Grass-type Pokemon are more resistant to the smell. We need a way to distract them."

"One distraction coming up," Steven said. "Everyone get ready to run in and grab Jose!"

"What're you going to do?" Russell asked.

"Trust me," Steven said. "Just get ready to run."

Steven reached into his bag and pulled something out—the bottle of Essence of Sweet Honey. Smirking, he threw it as hard as he could at a nearby tree. The sound of smashing glass was heard, and suddenly all the Weepinbell and Victreebel stopped and swarmed over to said tree.

In a flash, the five students were each grabbing Jose and hauling him out of the Victreebel nest as fast as their feet would carry them.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jose awakened to water splashing on his face, his jaws held tightly shut by a strong pair of hands.

"At least that water was good for _something_," Steven said, letting go of Jose's face.

"Nice thinking sending Rattata out with a message," Riley complimented, handing Jose his Pokedex. "Otherwise we'd never have found you in time."

Jose smiled and climbed to his feet, then recalled his school-appointed Pokemon.

"What were you doing in there, anyway?" Erika asked. "I thought you were terrified of Victreebel!"

Jose frowned and pulled the map out of his backpack and showed it to his friends. They quickly saw the problem: Almost all of the landmarks were in the wrong places!

"Persephone strikes again," Russell sighed.

Seeing the look on Jose's face, the kids launched into a swift explanation of everything that had happened that day.

"…And now we're sure she's plotting another escape attempt," Roxanne finished. "We need to find and stop her before she gets away!"

"You're the strategist, Jose," Steven said. "Any ideas?"

Jose thought for a minute, then nodded and began drawing a circle around his map with his finger.

"Right," Riley said. "First we need to find her."

"Well," Erika said. "If I know Persephone—and I'm sad to say I do—she won't be going alone. Vienna will definitely be with her, and probably Archie and Maxie, too."

"And if they're not in the same group…" Roxanne thought out loud.

"Then they must have an arranged meeting spot!" Russell finished. "Someplace easy to see on the map!"

"That's a little more helpful," Steven said. "But we don't have time to search all of those places. We need to find them right away!"

Russell thought for a moment, then smiled and pulled out the Pokeball that the school had provided. "I've got it!" he exclaimed, tossing the ball. "Go, Marill!"

At once a round, blue, mouse-like Pokemon with a round blue ball at the end of its black, zigzaggy tail appeared. _"Marill!"_ it cheered.

"Marill's ultra-powerful hearing should lead us right to them," Russell explained.

"Wait," Steven said, cocking his head. "Why didn't you use this to lead us to Jose instead of leaving us to walk around in circles?"

"Because Jose doesn't talk much and I didn't know what a Victreebel sounded like!" Russell snapped. "Now, here's an easy question: Which member of Persephone's group is most likely to be loudly complaining?"

"Vienna," everyone but Jose responded in unison.

"Right," Russell replied. "Now we just need to give Marill a sample. Can anyone here impersonate her?"

"How's this?" Roxanne said, suddenly sounding exactly like Vienna, haughty tone and everything. Seeing everyone except Erika's shocked expressions, she added in her own voice "Erika and I make fun of her and Persephone when they're not around."

"Sweet!" Steven commented. "Well, keep mimicking her!"

Roxanne smiled and launched into a long series of phrases in Vienna's voice.

"Ugh, would it _kill_ you people to be fashionable for _once_?"

"I'm as sharp as a boiled egg!"

"Roxie, do my homework and I'll give you this zirconium necklace."

After a few more, Marill's ears perked up and it was off and running, the kids right behind it.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"It's about time you got here!" Vienna complained as Persephone emerged from the brush.

"What took you so long?" Archie asked as she recalled Charon.

"Is that a hickey?" Maxie inquired, pointing to a purple spot on her neck.

"No," Jason lied, stepping out to join Persephone. "It's a bruise. We got in a fight on the way over."

"Uh…right," Persephone agreed. "Anyway, Jason is coming, too. He should be useful."

"Yeah, well, I'm bringing Adrian," Maxie said, gesturing to the boy on his right. "He wants out, too."

Persephone rolled her eyes, but nodded in approval. There was no time to question things. She just removed everyone's trackers and led them down their designated route, with Vienna complaining the whole time.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It wasn't long before Marill found Vienna. She was down by the river, walking with Persephone, Archie, Maxie, and, to everyone's surprise, Jason and Adrian.

"What're _they_ doing there?" Riley asked, pointing at the unexpected members.

"Maybe they wandered into the wrong place and were taken prisoner," Erika suggested.

"No," Steven said. "They're not tied up or anything."

Russell gulped in terror.

"Then that can only mean…they're on _her_ side!" he exclaimed, before Steven and Jose clamped his mouth shut.

"Be quiet!" Riley hissed. "We may have the same number of troops as them, but school Pokemon aren't as strong as personal ones! We can't take them directly! We need a plan!"

"Any ideas, anyone?" Roxanne asked.

Jose thought for a second, then smirked.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A few minutes after the secret meeting that Persephone knew nothing about, the albino girl stopped while leading her clique.

"What is it, boss?" Archie asked.

"The compass," Persephone replied. "It…changed."

"Changed?" Adrian repeated.

"Yeah," the leader replied. "And I only know two ways that that could happen here. Either we're near Roxanne, or she ditched the magnet. Either way, keep on your toes."

Just like that, the compass' needle moved again, pointing in a completely new direction.

"What the…?" the girl remarked, then reached for her Pokeball. No human could move that fast without being noticed. "That's it!" she shouted, throwing the ball. "Charon, find whatever's messing with us!"

In a burst of light, Charon appeared and flew into the air, circling around to find the group's saboteur. It was quick and efficient, gesturing to a blue, dog-like Pokemon in a nearby tree.

"Uh-oh," said Riley, who was standing beneath the tree trunk. "We've been spotted!"

"Get him!" Persephone ordered.

In an instant, Jason had released Cubone to fight, and Riolu was all too willing.

Before the fight could really start, though, Roxanne, Steven, Russell, and Erika emerged from the foliage, ready to battle with Nosepass, Aron, Marill, and Gloom.

"Get them!" Persephone commanded. "We can't let them stop us!"

Her team agreed and sent in Cranidos, Numel, and Spheal to stop them.

A free-for-all began, each Pokemon battling with all its might to try and take down at least one opponent. Aron rammed Spheal with its Iron Head, only for Cubone to strike it with a Bone Club right after. Cranidos managed an awesome Zen Headbutt to Gloom, but then accidentally got hit from behind by a Shadow Ball from Charon that was also aimed at Gloom. All Pokemon were sustaining heavy damage and fighting their hardest, but Persephone's side was clearly stronger, and more determined to boot. They overwhelmed their opponents, beating them into submission.

That's when Persephone noticed that it had gotten suspiciously quiet.

"Where's Vienna?" she asked.

Jason, Archie, Maxie, and Adrian looked around and shrugged.

Riley began to laugh. He couldn't help himself.

"I can't believe you fell for it!" he choked.

Persephone growled and seized him by the collar, looking even more menacing than usual. "What did you do to her?" she screamed.

"While you were busy battling, Jose was kidnapping Vienna!" Steven bragged. "By now he's already activated his tracker's distress signal!"

"It won't be long before the teachers show up and ruin your whole plan!" Roxanne sneered.

Persephone's eyes went wide with fury as she was told of her nemeses' success.

"Uh, boss," Adrian spoke up. "You know, the rest of us could probably still escape if we hurry…"

"NO!" Persephone screamed, in her fiercest voice yet. "I will _not_ leave a teammate behind! We go as a team or not at all!"

Adrian withdrew, terrified.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It wasn't long before the sound of the school's helicopter's whirring blades filled the air (have I mentioned before that this school is expensive?). Aided by the radar in the chopper and her Venonat (a furry, purple Bug-type with radar eyes), Ms. Goyal came and retrieved Jose and Vienna, and, as per the plan, then the rest of the two groups.

Though Jose should have lost a drastic amount of points for using a distress call, when our heroes explained the whole story, all of them received top marks.

Surprisingly, all of Persephone's team passed, too. How could they not? They showed excellent organization and outdoor skills. Still, they _did_ get an immensely long detention sentence, though that seemed to end after a week or so…

Anyhow, Russell knew that his twin wouldn't be down for long. She'd bounce back, and her next plan would be even better…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? DID YOU LIKE IT? I SO HOPE YOU DID! Please, tell me what you think in a review, preferably a nice, long one. Remember, OC'S ARE APPRECIATED, BUT COMPLETELY OPTIONAL—but please, give them a quirk I can work with! ROUNDED PERSONALITIES ARE FOR LONG-TERM CHARACTERS. THANKS! And now, back by popular demand, here's Dextette, with the Pokemon In-Depth, on--)

**Mareep, the Wool Pokemon. This Pokemon stores electricity in its thick wool, which will shock a person when touched. The wool rubs together to create a static charge. The more powerful the charge, the more brightly the lightbulb on its tail glows. This wool also grows continually and quickly. In the summer, it is fully shed, but grows back in a single week. Mareep's appearance is based on a sheep, with a reference to how wool builds up a static charge. Its name may be a combination of "Mary" from the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and "sheep", but it is also worth noting that it is an anagram for "ampere", a unit of electrical current.**

(Thank you Dextette! NOW, READERS, IF YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION FOR A POKEMON IN-DEPTH, FEEL FREE TO INCLUDE IT IN YOUR REVIEW! THANKS!)


	4. Cute Charm

(SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE, BUT I'M BACK NOW! It took me over a year to write this three-part story arc, BUT I WANTED IT TO BE JUST RIGHT! BTW, the new character with the name that's really hard to pronounce is the creation of Faile of Cyberwolf101. Just covering my bases there. ENJOY!)

**The Dog Days of Pokemon Tech**

**Chapter Four: Cute Charm**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"All right, class," Mr. North said. "Today we'll bring up the topic of pheromones, the Cupid's arrow of nature. Please take out your notebooks."

Persephone looked bored, Adrian confused, and Jose's expression was downright impossible to read, but the entire class did as they were told.

"Pheromones are potent biological chemicals that the body exudes," the teacher explained. "All animals give them off for the purpose of mating. They create a powerful reaction in the brain, giving a sense of attraction toward their source."

Archie and Jason looked at each other and shrugged.

Mr. North smiled. "Perhaps a demonstration," he said, walking over to his chemical cabinet, which was always locked and labeled "**HAZARDOUS! STUDENTS KEEP OUT!**". "Everybody move to the front of the room."

The class obeyed as Mr. North pulled out a key, unlocked the cabinet, and retrieved a small spray bottle labeled "Female Pheromone Enhancer".

"Now, I'll need a volunteer," Mr. North said. "A girl, if you please."

A few hands went up, and Mr. North selected Roxanne. He held up the bottle and gave her one small, quick spray to the face.

The effect took a few seconds, but soon, every boy in the class became transfixed upon Roxanne's visage. Well, all but two, one being Mr. North.

"Why aren't _you_ going ga-ga over her?" Erika whispered to the boy next to her.

Jose just shrugged.

"As you could see," Mr. North continued after a minute when the pheromones had faded and he'd sent everyone back to their seats. "I was unaffected. This is because Roxanne is not yet a biological adult like me. My nose and brain are less sensitive to her signals. Now, if you'll all take out your textbooks and turn to page 487…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next class for Jose and Erika was Contests 101 (Roxanne had Algebra), which Riley took as well. On the downside, so did Persephone and Vienna.

Contests 101 was taught in one of the gyms by Johanna, a dark-haired woman who had once won the Ribbon Cup in Sinnoh and never revealed her surname, and the class was one of the electives that the school offered. Many signed up right away since it could truly be called an easy class—if you could be creative and original, and didn't get stage fright. Most of it was thinking up appeals and practicing them for a week or two, then showing off. It gave the students plenty of time to think and talk, too.

"Hello, class," Johanna greeted, excited. "Well, today's the day! Now, if everybody will form a neat, single-file line, we can—."

"Excuse me," said a female voice from behind the gym door. "Sorry I'm late. It's my first day."

"Ah, yes," Johanna said with a nod. "I was told you would be joining us today. Please, come in."

A girl walked in and the jaws of nearly every boy in the class hit the floor in unison. She was a drop-dead gorgeous girl, clearly of Japanese origin, with shiny, flowing obsidian hair that was tied up in a bun, and then allowed to go freely down halfway to her waist. And her eyes—her eyes were the perfect shade of robin's-egg blue. Never before had the students had such a goddess in their midst.

"Class," Johanna addressed. "This is…I'm sorry," she apologized, turning to the girl. "How is it pronounced?"

"Saoirse," the girl replied, pronouncing it "SEER-shuh".

"Thank you," Johanna said, turning back to the class. "This is Saoirse, and she will be joining our class. Now," she said, once again turning to the new student. "We were just about to perform the appeals that we've been working on. Obviously, since you're new, you don't have to, but please pay attention to the others, all right?"

"Of course," Saoirse replied.

"Good," Johanna said, once again turning to address the whole class. "Now, who's first?" she asked. "How about you, Erika?"

Erika smiled and moved forward, ahead of the class and pulled out her Pokeball, how held within a translucent capsule studded with seals.

"Gloom, I choose you!" she announced, tossing the ball before her. Gloom appeared, but not in a flash of light like usual. Instead, a cascade of flower petals spun around it for a few seconds before disappearing.

"_Gloom, gloom!_" Gloom said, taking a stance.

"Gloom, start off with Stun Spore, if you please!" Erika called.

"_Gloom!_" Gloom replied, emitting glowing yellow spores from its bud.

"Now a Sweet Scent!"

Gloom let out a pink vapor cloud that smelled very tempting.

"Blend them together with your Petal Dance!" Erika cried.

"_Gloom, gloomgloom!_" Gloom cheered, creating a cyclone of pink petals that ensnared the vapor and spores and trapped them inside.

Erika sat back and enjoyed this site for a minute before snapping back without warning. "And…stop!" she commanded.

Gloom stopped, and the petals blasted apart, scattering the petals, spores, and vapor all around the gym.

The class applauded as Erika thanked Gloom and recalled it.

"Excellent work, as usual!" Johanna complimented. "And a fine use of seals, too! Now, who's next?"

And so it went. One by one, the whole class showed their stuff. Riley's Riolu did a martial arts routine, and ended by breaking fifteen tiles with its Brick Break. Charon hit several moving targets with its Shadow Ball. Jose's Spinarak (which he'd borrowed for the class) wove a web that depicted a Butterfree in flight. Many other unimportant people went after and between them.

Then came Vienna's turn.

It was common knowledge that this was Vienna's favorite class—she'd never been late or absent once. This class involved the one thing that she loved to do most: show off.

"Okay," she shouted, pulling an emerald-studded Pokeball in a capsule covered with heart seals from her handbag. "Lila, show 'em what you got!"

Vienna threw the Pokeball and a giant pink heart appeared, then burst and a Skitty (an adorable pink Kitten Pokemon) fell to the floor, striking an adorable pose.

"Use Ice Beam!" Vienna commanded.

Lila meowed and shot a blue beam at the floor, conjuring a pillar of ice.

"Now shape it with Charge Beam!"

Lila mewed, then opened its mouth and shot a wave of electricity of the ice, blasting a little away from the top and sides.

"And sculpt it with Doubleslap!"

Lila leapt over to the mound of ice and began slapping it with its tail, creating a more and more definitive shape. It continued this act, sculpting the ice bit by bit until it finally made—

"A statue of Vienna," Riley muttered. "It figures."

"I think its eyes are following me," Erika shuddered, moving her head from side to side.

"As opposed to the _real_ Vienna, who just stares blankly into space," Riley commented.

"Well, Vienna, your Skitty's an excellent sculptor," Johanna commented. "But once again, you seem to have shifted the spotlight to yourself. I wish you'd share the spotlight once in a while. After all, it's really about Lila."

Vienna pouted and returned Lila to her Pokeball.

"Well," Johanna said. "That's everybody. I guess you can have the last few minutes to yourse—."

"Actually, ma'am," Saoirse interrupted. "Do you think that _I_ could try? I work on appeals in my spare time."

Johanna smiled. "Of course, dear," she said. "By all means."

Saoirse grinned and pulled out a Pokeball, this one in a capsule marked with seals that the class had never seen before. "Cleo," she shouted, throwing the ball. "Take the stage!"

The ball opened and a swarm of pink and blue butterflies appeared, then scattered and vanished as a Pokemon emerged from within them. It was a Bug-type, that was obvious, with a roundish body, mothlike antennae, small, transparent wings, and what looked like a purple collar. _"Illumise!"_ it chirped.

"Cleo, start off with Double Team!" Saoirse instructed.

Cleo chirped, then created five perfect duplicates of itself that flew around in a circle.

"Cleos one through three, Water Pulse!" Saoirse ordered. "Four through six, Thunderpunch!"

The six Cleos nodded. Three of them shot big globs of water at the others. The other three responded by punching them with sparking fists. The globs burst and a cloud of steam surrounded the Pokemon.

"Now unite and finish with Silver Wind!" Saoirse called.

"_Illu-mi-se!"_ Cleo could be heard saying.

A small silver tornado blew through the steam and dispelled it, leaving the Illumise twirling merrily before striking a pose.

The class burst into applause. Saoirse wasn't just beautiful—she was talented!

"Excellent work, Saoirse!" Johanna complimented. "You have a real future as a coordinator.

Saoirse just took a bow and recalled Cleo into her Pokeball.

"All right, everyone," Johanna announced. "That's all the time we have for today. Excellent work, and remember we need the decorations committee here later today to set up the gym for the dance!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That afternoon, Persephone's clique met in her room for the meeting she had called.

"Welcome, team," she greeted. "I'm glad that you all could make it."

"Wasn't hard," Jason told her. "Your room's just down the hall."

Persephone rolled her eyes and continued. "Anyway," she went on. "I'm sure you all know of the dance tomorrow."

"Of course," Maxie said. "I'm going with Vienna."

"In your dreams!" Archie argued. "_I'm_ taking Vienna!"

"I am!" Maxie retorted.

"I am!" Archie shot back.

"ME!"

"ME!"

"Maximillian, Archibald, focus!" Persephone shouted, getting scary again.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" the two yelled simultaneously, but then they quieted down.

"Besides," Vienna said. "I can go with both of you. I have two arms, don't I?"

Adrian and Jason laughed at such a proposal, but Persephone just glared.

"None of us are going to the dance!" the albino insisted. "Not for dating, anyway. This is the perfect chance to enact my new plan!"

"So…I can't go with them?" Vienna pouted.

Persephone sighed and went back to explaining her plan. "That dance is a gathering of everyone in the school, both students _and_ staff!" she said. "It's the perfect cover for us to break out."

"And everybody will just take their eyes off of us while we do that?" Jason asked, suspicious.

Persephone let out a wicked smile. "Exactly," she giggled, walking to the door. "If we push them to it."

"What do you mean?" Adrian asked.

Persephone gave the door two sharp knocks. The door swung open and in walked the flawless beauty known as Saoirse.

Adrian's jaw dropped, Jason's eyes went wide, and Archie and Maxie bolted over to the girl than Persephone would've thought physically possible. "Wanna go to the dance?" they both asked, forgetting what Persephone had said completely.

"Hey, what about me?" Vienna demanded as Saoirse just smiled.

"Who said that?" Maxie asked, oblivious to all but the new girl.

"Distracting, isn't she?" Persephone said, mostly to herself before turning to Saoirse. "Hey, come here. I need to talk to you."

Saoirse nodded and walked over, with Maxie and Archie close behind.

Pers sighed and turned to Vienna.

"Take the boys out of here, Vienna," she instructed. "I need to talk to say-ER-see—."

"SEER-shuh," Saoirse corrected.

"'SEER-shuh', alone," Persephone finished.

"No way!" Vienna objected. "_I'm_ your best assistant, and _I_ wanna hear the plan now!"

"I'll fill you in later," Pers promised, though a small anime vein was bulging in her forehead.

"No, now!" Vienna insisted. "Besides, I don't wanna be with Archie and Maxie right now, and I bet they don't wanna be with me!"

Archie and Maxie said nothing, now literally drooling at the sight of the goddess Saoirse.

Persephone threw Vienna a cookie.

"Oh, okay," Vienna said, dragging the four boys out of the room and closing the door behind her.

"Good to have those dopes gone," Saoirse commented with a look of disgust on her face.

Persephone looked shocked, then angry. "Hey," she snarled. "Nobody talks about my team that way except me! I value my workers, and I won't let them be insulted!"

"Whatever," Saoirse said, rolling her eyes. "It's just that things are the same at every school: all boys want me, no girl can stand me, and frankly, I'm tired of stepping in puddles of spit!"

"Well," Persephone said, beginning to smile again. "Like I said, I've got a little plan to break out of this school for good, and your little charms are exactly what I need."

"I figured as much," Saoirse replied. "So, what do you need? I can't seduce teachers, you know. That'd be creepy on too many levels."

"Good to know," Persephone replied. "But the plan was more about seducing the students. All of the boys, in fact."

"All of them?!" Saoirse exclaimed. "I-I'm not sure that's possible, even for me!"

"But if it was, you'd do it, right?" Persephone persisted. "No…moral issues with controlling them, or anything?"

Saoirse let out a laugh. "You're kidding, right?" she giggled. "A problem with controlling men? Pers, I know we share a similar belief. We both know that women are far superior to men. The Y chromosome is mankind's greatest flaw. Girls are smarter, more creative, and can stand more pain than any man ever could. You agree, don't you?" she finished with an evil smirk.

"I don't interfere with my teammates' beliefs," Persephone replied patiently. "But just make sure that you don't hurt anyone on my side, or there'll be trouble."

"As you wish," Saoirse said. "Now, for your plan…"

"I'll fill you in tomorrow morning," the albino girl answered. "But for now, just convince all the boys you can to go to the dance, and avoid me in public until then. Can you handle that?"

"No problem," Saoirse responded.

"Good," Persephone said. "With this plan, we'll be out of here in no time."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next day, students got a free day while the school prepared for the dance. Most of them spent the time relaxing or studying for upcoming midterms, but a few were in the gym setting up decorations.

"Wish you could've seen it last period," Riley laughed, taking a break from blowing up a balloon. "Russell finally worked up the nerve to ask her, and almost passed out before he got her reply! It was a riot! Lucky she was holding out for him, or he would've had to watch her dance with one of those losers who asked the minute they heard the announcement!"

Erika blushed, and Steven grunted. It was common knowledge that he had done exactly that with Roxanne.

"So…who're _you_ going with, Riley?" asked a voice above the boy in indigo.

Everyone jumped. It was Noel, a plain, dirty-blonde girl who was in the process of hanging a banner. She had the strangest ability to just blend into the background, completely unnoticed, and everybody was always shocked to find that she was near.

Once he got over his initial shock, Riley thought about her question for a moment.

"Probably no one," he finally said. "I mean, we're just kids. Dating's a long way away. We should enjoy this time while it lasts. Right, Jose?"

Jose turned and nodded slightly before going back to the decorations he was tacking up.

"Oh," Noel said, slightly disappointed. "I just thought, you know, if you wanted to, you'd consider—."

"Hey, is that the new girl you told me about?" Steven asked Riley, Erika, and Jose as a figure came through the doorway.

"Yep," Erika replied, staring at the perfect specimen. "That's Saoirse, all right."

But Riley and Steven were no longer listening. Saoirse now had their full attention.

"Hey there," Saoirse said, addressing the boys. "Is this where the dance'll be?"

Steven just nodded, unable to speak.

"Oh, good," the goddess sighed. "I thought I was lost for a minute there. It's so tough being new, you know?"

"Uh…uh-huh," Riley said, blushing hard.

"So," Saoirse continued. "I was hoping that everyone could attend the dance tonight. It's a great way for me to meet people. Really get to know them, you know?"

Steven and Riley nodded furiously, as did every other boy in the room, save for Jose for some reason…

"Oh, good!" Saoirse smiled. "It'll be great to get to know all of you!"

She looked at her wristwatch and frowned. "Oh, sorry guys, but I've gotta go. See ya!"

"See ya," the boys murmured back in a dazed fashion as the vision of loveliness walked out.

"She seemed okay…" Noel commented.

"I don't know," Roxanne said. "There's something about her that I don't like…"

"Somebody sounds jealous," Riley said in response.

"I agree with Roxanne," Erika insisted, putting a hand on Roxanne's shoulder. "She seems a little too eager to show off."

Roxanne nodded, but then broke out in a coughing fit.

"New perfume (COUGH!), Erika?" she choked.

Erika nodded. "New formula: assorted flower petals, some lavender, and a hint of essence of Gloom. I thought I'd wear it to the dance."

"Seems a bit (COUGH, COUGH!) strong," Roxanne commented.

Erika hung her head. She'd been experimenting with different scents for a while now, and she'd really thought she'd had a keeper.

"…Jose liked it…" she said faintly.

"It's the Gloom smell," Steven guessed. "You and Jose both love it, but nobody else does."

Erika sulked slightly, but said nothing.

"Sorry, Erika," Riley apologized. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check if Saoirse has a date yet…"

Noel sighed as he bolted out, totally clueless. Upon this, Jose smiled and offered her a hand down from the ladder, then continued to hold on.

"Are you asking me out?" she inquired.

Jose nodded.

Noel frowned. "Is this a pity date?"

Jose thought about it and nodded again, causing her to sigh.

"I'll take it."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night was the night of the dance. Students had ordered all sorts of formal clothes for the occasion.

"Everybody ready?" Russell asked, looking around at the other three guys in his room.

"Yep," said Steven, who was wearing a grey tuxedo with a red bow tie.

"You bet," Riley, who was in a dark indigo jacket, slacks, and a wide-brimmed hat with an indigo feather sticking out, replied.

Jose, whose outfit was almost exactly like his old one but with a much higher thread count and with a blue rose tucked in the jacket pocket, gave a thumbs-up.

Russell, who was in a black sport coat with a green tie, nodded.

"Right," he said. "Let's go."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The girls, meanwhile, were also getting ready, taking turns with the bathroom and closet to do so. Roxanne and Vienna had already changed, and Erika and Persephone were just finishing.

"What do you think?" Erika asked, stepping out of the closet to get the opinion of Roxanne, who was wearing a ruffled red dress and had done up her hair with a red ribbon.

Roxanne looked at her up and down, examining Erika's new mint green kimono, held tight to her waist by an emerald-green obi.

"Perfect," she said. "Except…uh, you know…"

"The perfume?" Erika guessed. "Yeah, sorry about that. But perfect otherwise, right?"

Vienna scoffed. "What do you two know about perfection?" she sneered. "When I walk in that gym, all eyes will be on me!"

Vienna's outfit certainly attracted attention. Her long, white gown was decked out with all sorts of sequins and jewels to make it stand out more. If there was one thing the girl was good with, it was attracting attention.

"Pers?" Vienna called. "Are you coming?"

"Just a sec!" Persephone replied. "Okay, here I come!"

The bathroom door opened and the three girls' jaws dropped. Persephone was outfitted in a tight, strapless black dress that could only be called slutty. Her hair had been pulled back from her family's usual hairstyle and crammed into a ponytail. She was also wearing ebony lipstick.

"Who'd sell _that_ to a ten-year-old?!" Roxanne gasped.

Persephone scowled. "Don't know," she replied. "The same people who can sell this whole school clothes that fit perfectly without any tailoring, I guess. Now, are we going or not?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back in Archie's room, the rest of Persephone's team (save for Saoirse) had gathered. Jason was in a night-black tuxedo and Adrian a white one that had been carefully fitted under his sling. Maxie and Archie, however, were still in their normal clothes.

"We're all clear on the plan, right?" Jason inquired.

"For the twelfth time, yes!" Maxie shouted. "We've been over this again and again since yesterday!"

"The boss is a genius," Archie commented, very pleased.

There was a knock at the window. Charon had made his delivery. Jason opened the window and took what Charon had brought, then recalled the Murkrow into the Pokeball that Persephone had given him.

"We're all set," Jason said with a grin.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The students were highly impressed with the scenery as they entered the gym. The committee had done an excellent job making it look festive and sophisticated at the same time. Banners and cloths were hung all over, and dim, colored lights were shining down. All the students seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some had come alone, but far more had partners. Off in the corner next to the stage was the DJ table, ironically occupied by a music-loving student _named_ DJ, who had eagerly volunteered for the job.

Spread throughout the room were the teachers there to supervise. Mr. North was waltzing with Johanna, Ms. Goyal was deep in a conversation with Mr. Grady, the balding, bespectacled history teacher, by the buffet table, and Principal Gonzales, tall, dark, and suave with a pointy black moustache and beard, welcomed entering students. The only teacher who truly didn't seem to be getting into the spirit was Coach Gold, but that was hardly surprising. An ex-UFC fighter standing at an impressive six-foot-seven, Coach Gold was not a man to be trifled with. The piercing glare from his dark brown eyes was second in power only to Ms. Goyal's, but most students were more afraid of him since he hadn't been seen in a good mood in months. By his side as usual was his trusty Hitmonchan, a tan Fighting-type with boxing gloves for hands, helping him search for anything inappropriate. Somehow they skipped right over Persephone's dress (rumor was that she was blackmailing him somehow).

As was expected, this dance started like any other school dance: Boys lined up on one wall, girls on the other, and everyone too terrified to be the first to humiliate themselves on the dance floor.

It ended up being Jose who broke the ice. He walked over to Noel, who was in a dress that was a unique blend of red, green, and white, and with what looked like holly leaves in her hair, took her by the hand and led her to the middle of the room where the two started weaving, dipping, and twirling. Not to be outdone, Vienna seized Adrian and started dancing, hoping to steal some attention.

One by one the students drifted in to join the fun, finally getting the party started. They ate, they danced, and they mingled— basic party stuff, really.

"You, uh, you look great," Russell told Erika, blushing heavily and his face dripping with sweat as they slow danced.

"Oh, you're sweet," Erika replied. "But you really don't mind my perfume? I took three showers and still couldn't completely get rid of the scent."

It was true—there was a wide berth around the dancing couple.

"Not if you don't mind my sweaty hands," Russell said with a smile. "I'm just glad you said 'yes'."

On the other side of the room, Persephone and Jason were taking advantage of the crowd by the buffet table to have a private conversation.

"Here you go," Jason said, handing her Charon's Pokeball. "He delivered the goods, just as planned."

"Perfect," the oddball Jenny said. "In just a few hours' time, we'll all be miles away from this school and off on our own!"

Both of them chuckled evilly as they sipped their punch.

Off in the corner, Riley watched Roxanne and Steven's awkward attempts at dancing, and took occasional glances at the double doors. Saoirse had declined going as his date, but had heavily implied that she'd save him a dance, and he was eager for that.

Meanwhile, Noel kept accidentally stepping on Jose's feet whenever she cast a longing glance at Riley. After about the fifth time, Jose broke apart from her, pointed to Riley and walked over to the buffet table for a snack.

Noel blushed as she started to walk over to make her move, but before she could get near him, the double doors swung open and everyone turned as the goddess Saoirse walked in. She waved and greeted everyone as she continued past them, grabbed Riley, and climbed up on the stage.

Noel sighed. Riley looked way too happy up there. He'd never spare her a dance now.

After a few minutes, Saoirse signaled DJ to stop and picked up his microphone, but just before she could speak, Persephone hit a button on the cell phone in her pocket and two loud, arguing voices rang out in the hallway.

"LAND!"

"SEA!"

"LAND!"

"SEA!"

"STOP BEING STUBBORN! YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!"

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!"

After that was mostly fight sounds…

"Uh-oh," Persephone told Coach Gold with a surreptitious wink. "Sounds like this could get real physical real soon. Better stop them before someone gets hurt or something gets broken."

The coach rolled his eyes, but knew better than to disobey Persephone when she had those pictures…

"All right," he shouted to the other teachers as he recalled his Hitmonchan. "I'm gonna need some backup! Remember what happened last time!"

"But the students…" Johanna spoke up.

"They'll be fine alone for a couple minutes!" Coach Gold countered. "Now come on, before someone gets killed!"

The teachers nodded and rushed out down the hall, following the noise. They chased it down an entire wing, finally entering a supply closet, where they found not Archie and Maxie, but—

"A tape recorder?!" Ms. Goyal exclaimed. "Oh, this has 'Persephone' written all over it!"

At that moment, the closet door swung shut.

"Sorry about this," Maxie said as he locked the door.

"It's nothing personal, really!" Archie apologized, barricading the door with a desk.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back at the dance, Persephone smirked as she grabbed Jason and Adrian and bolted out the doors unnoticed as Saoirse began to speak.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "Anyway, I'd just like to say how happy I am to be here at Pokemon Tech. Everyone here is so nice! I've been to a lot of schools, but I have to say that Pokemon Tech is my favorite by far! And now, if I could have your undivided attention, I have a special surprise for all of you."

Everyone watched as Saoirse pulled out a perfume bottle and liberally spritzed herself all over. With that, she pocketed the bottle and smiled.

"What was _that_ about?" Erika muttered.

Russell just shrugged.

In a second, however, they noticed that almost every boy in the gym was staring at the new girl with looks of utmost devotion on their faces.

"Thank you," Saoirse giggled. "And now, why don't all the guys hold their girls _real_ close for a nice dance—for me?" she finished, smiling sweetly.

At once, almost all the boys nodded and held their dates painfully tight, starting a forced dance as Saoirse laughed.

"What's going on?" Russell asked, getting worried.

"I don't know," Erika replied. "But it can't be good! Look!"

Erika pointed over to Roxanne, who was in the middle of wrestling with Steven, trying to throw him off of her. This counted as suspicious—Steven liked Roxanne, that much was true, but he'd always shown her nothing but the utmost respect. Something was very wrong.

Russell and Erika ran over and grabbed Steven and Roxanne, respectively, trying to pull them apart. They had little success until Jose and Noel came over and helped. Working together, the four of them managed to get Steven off of her, thought Jose and Noel had to use all of their strength to keep him from glomming onto her again.

"Thanks, guys," Roxanne panted. "I just don't know what got into him!"

"I've got a guess…" Noel said, glaring up at Saoirse and causing everyone to jump at the sound of her voice. "Remember Mr. North's demonstration yesterday?"

"The one on pheromones?" Roxanne replied. "What, you think she's using them to control the boys?"

"It'd certainly explain some things," Noel said, nodding. "The boys are so crazy for her that they'll do anything she says! The only thing I don't get is why it's not working on Russell or Jose…"

"Well, it didn't work on Jose in class, either…" Roxanne stated.

"But it _did_ work on Russell!" Noel said, recalling yesterday's lesson. "Why not now?"

Russell just shrugged, but as he did Erika began to pace, trying to think of an answer. As she did, Russell turned to Saoirse and began to drool. "Russell?" she asked, walking back to him. "Are you okay?"

Russell shook his head wildly and returned to normal. "Yeah, fine," he said.

"Wait," Roxanne said, getting an idea. "Erika, walk over to Steven for a minute."

Erika did as she was told, and Russell went back to staring at the new girl. Steven, however, stopped struggling and looked confused.

"Why're you guys holding me?" he asked.

"Erika, it's your perfume!" Roxanne exclaimed. "It's so strong that their noses can't process the pheromones!"

Jose agreed with her, nodding furiously.

"That's perfect!" Erika grinned. "I'll bet anything it's the Gloom scent! Maybe I can break her control over everyone!"

"Don't count on it!" Saoirse's voice rang out. Seeing their looks of confusion, she added "The acoustics are amazing in here! I can hear everything you're saying! And Persephone won't be happy about you ruining her plan!"

"That's right!" Vienna added, before Saoirse shoved her aside.

"Well, I can't let you losers wreck everything we've worked for!" she shouted. "Boys, get 'em outta her and bar the doors!"

Before the group even had time to react, about fifteen boys grabbed them and threw them out the double doors, slammed the doors shut, and, from the sounds the group heard, blocked the doors with the buffet table.

"Everyone okay?" Erika asked.

Jose, Steven, and Roxanne nodded.

"Wait," Steven realized. "Where are Noel and Russell?"

"They must still be in there!" Roxanne exclaimed. "We've got to help them!"

"The best way to help them is to help everyone," Erika said calmly. "And we've got to stop Persephone before she gets away!"

"We're gonna need help," Roxanne said. "I'll find the teachers."

"Good idea," Erika said. "And I'll try to end Saoirse's influence early."

"How do you plan to do that?" Steven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Easy," Erika told him. "You ever notice how you can smell lunch cooking during gym class?"

Jose, Steven, and Roxanne nodded again.

"That's because the kitchen air vent leads straight to the one in the gym," she continued. "I'll pump Gloom's scent right through and take away Saoirse's power!"

"Great!" Steven smiled. "And Jose and I'll stop Persephone before she gets away!"

"What about the girls in the gym?" Roxanne asked. "If we could talk to them, maybe we could get their help from the inside!"

Jose rolled his eyes, then pointed to a door down the hall—the door to the principal's office.

"Great idea!" Steven said. "You girls go on ahead. Jose and I'll pass on the message."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So, you're sure you can fly a helicopter?" Jason asked as the trio continued down the hall.

"Positive," Persephone responded. "Mom's taken me on plenty of rides on the police chopper for Take Your Daughter to Work Day, so if the chopper's anything like that one—and I can't see how it'd be very different—I'm sure I—."

Persephone's answer was cut short by a crackle from the PA system, followed by an announcement.

"Hello?" Steven's voice rang out. "Attention girls of the dance! Saoirse is controlling the boys using a pheromone disguised as perfume! Take the bottle from her and it'll take away most of her power! We'll try to send in a stronger scent to overpower it shortly. Thank you."

Persephone's eyes narrowed. Adrian and Jason backed away in fright.

"I should've guessed they'd screw things up," she seethed. "Come on, we'd better hurry if we want this to work!"

Angrily, she thrust out her cell phone and sent a couple of text messages.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(What do you think? THERE'S MORE TO COME, AND IT'S FULL OF ACTION-PACKED BATTLES! Oh, and if anyone's annoyed that Jose isn't affected by the pheromone, I GUARANTEE THAT HE ISN'T JUST MAGICALLY IMMUNE. There's a very good reason why a _**FEMALE**_ pheromone doesn't turn him on. If you think about that for even a second, you'll get it.

And now, for the Pokemon In-Depth segment, featuring Dextette! THIS ONE'S ON—

**Slowpoke, the Dopey Pokemon. This Pokemon is incredibly slow and dim-witted. It takes five seconds to feel any pain. However, its tail is naturally built for fishing due to the sweet-tasting sap that leaks from its tip, and the fact that Slowpoke feels no pain when its tail is bitten. Even so, Slowpoke may spend the entire day fishing simply because it has forgotten what it was doing. A Slowpoke will only evolve (whether into Slowbro or Slowking it matters not) when it is bitten by a Shellder. Slowpoke's appearance is vaguely based on a hippopotamus, and its name is a term for someone who is slow. Its prototype name "Slowmo" is slang for "slow motion", and its Japanese name "Yadon" may come from "yadokari" (parasitic host) or "yadonushi" (parasite's host) and "donkan" (thickheaded or stolid) or "don" (slow, dull, or stupid).**

Very nice, Dextette. I'd also like to add that in the entire anime, NO SLOWPOKE HAS EVER USED EVEN A SINGLE ATTACK! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Anyway, that's all for this update. If you have an OC, OR A SUGGESTION FOR THE IN-DEPTH SEGMENT, PLEASE ADD IT TO YOUR REVIEW! THANKS!)


	5. Arena Trap

(Okay, I'm back WITH PART TWO OF THIS STORY ARC! YOU LIKE BATTLES? WELL, PREPARE FOR TONS OF 'EM! Enjoy!)

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Dog Days of Pokemon Tech**

**Chapter five: Arena Trap**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back at the dance, Saoirse grew concerned at Steven's announcement. Fearful, she applied more perfume, then picked up the microphone and shouted another command.

"Boys, keep the girls back by whatever means necessary!"

The boys all nodded and smirked, then called on their Pokemon and began attacking their own dates!

Noel, however, possibly because she was so plain and easy to overlook, managed to sneak past the boys and onto the stage. Jumping over next to Saoirse and grabbing the microphone, she managed to address the girls in the room.

"Girls!" she called. "Fight back! We can't let anyone get hurt!"

The girls all nodded and called their own Pokemon, beginning a series of battles so huge that there was less than five square feet of floor space below the stage.

"A rebel, eh?" Saoirse snarled, snatching the microphone back and throwing Noel off of her. "Well, if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!"

"I'm not afraid of you," Noel replied, though she didn't sound so sure. "Go, Snover!"

Noel threw her Pokeball and a Pokemon appeared in a flash of light. It looked like a short, squat, brown and white pine tree with eyes, arms, and legs. _"Snover!"_ it shouted.

To Noel's surprise, Saoirse just laughed.

"Who said _I'd_ be battling you?" she cackled. "What good is full control of people if you don't use it? Riley," she said sweetly. "Handle this for me."

"Gladly," Riley said dreamily, pulling out his Pokeball. "Go, Riolu!"

Riley threw the ball and his Riolu appeared on the stage, looking confused.

"Riolu, use Force Palm!" Riley ordered.

Riolu stared at Riley, then shook its head, unwilling to start a senseless fight.

"Ha!" Noel laughed. "Guess you can't manipulate Pokemon as well as boys, eh, Saoirse?"

"_She_ can't," Riley sneered. "But _I _can!"

Before Noel could ask what Riley meant, he held his hand up toward Riolu and a faint blue glow surrounded his body. At the same time, an identical glow appeared around Riolu, and slowly, Riolu's facial expression changed to match Riley's.

"Oh, this is amazing!" Saoirse cheered. "I picked a guy who can control aura! I've only read about people like that! It's supposed to be mega-rare!"

"That's right," Riley said with a smile, before addressing his Riolu again. "Now, I believe I said 'Force Palm'?"

Riolu nodded and rushed toward Snover with its paw out.

"Uh, dodge it, Snover!" Noel choked out.

Snover gulped and managed to get out of the way at the last second.

"Now a Brick Break!" Riley commanded.

"Dodge it!" Noel shouted.

Riolu came forward with a strong punch, but Snover once again slid aside.

"Fight me, Noel!" Riley shouted. "You know I don't like an easy battle!"

"I-I don't want to hurt Riolu, Riley," Noel stammered. "Or you, either!"

"You don't have a choice!" Saoirse grinned. "If you want me, you'll have to go through your little crush! That's right, I know! We all know!"

"Even _I_ know!" Vienna chortled.

"Shut up, Vienna!" Saoirse snapped. "I know math isn't your strong point, but you're not part of this equation!"

Vienna just crossed her arms and glared at Saoirse.

"Now, Noel," Saoirse taunted, turning her attention back to the third girl on the stage. "You have two choices: Fight it out, or stand aside and let Pers' plan go through!"

Noel said nothing, but she looked utterly panicked.

"Don't let her get away with this, Noel!" a girl in the gym suddenly called.

"Yeah," another girl agreed. "She stole every one of our dates!"

"You gotta battle, Noel!" said yet another. "We all are!"

Noel narrowed her eyes at Saoirse and nodded. If it was a battle she wanted, it was a battle she'd get!

"Snover," she yelled. "Hit Riolu with a Powder Snow!"

"_Snover!"_ Snover replied, holding up its hands and sending a barrage of snowflakes at Riolu. _"Sno-ver!"_

Riolu winced as it was hit in the back, but it quickly recovered, ready for more.

"Oh, yeah!" Riley chuckled. "_Now_ we've got a battle!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Roxanne, meanwhile, had gone off to find the teachers, and had succeeded, but, as you well know, the closet had been locked and barricaded. She found it easily enough from the teachers' screams for help.

"I'm here!" she shouted, getting their attention. "How can I help?"

"Oh, Roxanne," Mr. Grady's voice sighed from behind the door. "Thank goodness! We're trapped in here!"

"My school key was able to unlock the door," Principal Gonzales elaborated. "But we still can't open it! Even Coach Gold and his Hitmonchan couldn't break through!"

"I can see why," Roxanne commented. "There's a big desk blocking it!"

"Would you mind moving it, dear?" asked Johanna. "We really need to get back to supervising the dance."

"And I want to get my hands on those two brats…" Coach Gold growled.

"Okay," Roxanne nodded, though none of the teachers could see her. "But it looks heavy. It could take a little while…"

"Oh, it'll take you longer than that," said a familiar voice from the room across the hall. Archie walked up to Roxanne with a smug grin on his face. "It definitely will with _me_ here!"

"ARCHIE!" Coach Gold's voice boomed. "MOVE THIS DESK, NOW!"

"Sorry, but the answer's 'no'," Archie sighed. "I have my orders. I can't let you guys out."

"Archie, I knew you were juvenile, but this is a new low!" Roxanne lectured sternly. "You _need_ to let them out!"

"Can't do it," Archie replied, shaking his head. "I have my orders, and Persephone's _way _scarier than the teachers when she's mad!"

"If you won't let them out, then I will!" Roxanne asserted.

"You'll have to go through my Spheal and me first!" Archie snapped, tossing a Pokeball and conjuring his almost-spherical, blue, seal-like Pokemon.

Roxanne shook her head wildly, the ribbon in her hair coming loose and sending her tan locks all over the place.

"I'm not doing that!" she said fiercely. "You _know_ that Pokemon battles aren't for settling personal differences!"

"Uh, Roxanne," Mr. North called. "This is somewhat of an emergency. Just this once, we can excuse it."

The other teachers muttered their agreements.

Roxanne looked doubtful, but threw a Pokeball and sent out her Nosepass, to which Archie just laughed.

"There's no way you can beat me with _that_!" he chortled. "Pokemon of the sea are _far_ superior to pathetic Rock-types! Go on, I'll even let you have the first attack."

"Thanks," Roxanne said sarcastically. "Nosepass, use Stone Edge!"

"_Nosepass!"_ Nosepass called, conjuring four sharp rocks and (seemingly with psychic ability, or more likely magnetism) hurling them at Spheal.

"Dodge it, Spheal, and use Water Gun!" Archie commanded.

Spheal clapped its flippers in joy, then easily rolled out of the way of the attack and shot a blast of water at Nosepass' side.

"_Nose, nose-pass!"_ Nosepass cried out in pain, though its face remained as expressionless as ever.

"Don't give up, Nosepass!" Roxanne urged. "Give it your Zap Cannon!"

Nosepass said nothing as it turned to Spheal, conjured a crackling green ball of electrical energy before its overly-large nose, and fired.

"Dodge and Brine!" Archie ordered.

"_Spheal, spheal!"_ Spheal replied happily, just before rolling aside again and striking Nosepass in the face with a big ball of murky water.

"_It's too fast!"_ Roxanne thought. _"I've got to find a way to catch it or I'm sunk!"_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At the same time, Erika dashed through the cafeteria and into the kitchens, where students weren't normally allowed. She had no worries there, though. The teachers were sure to forgive this under the circumstances.

The flower-lover took an eager look around the ridiculously tidy kitchen, taking in every chrome, top-of-the-line appliance. Finally she spotted the large vent that she was looking for, but it was shut tight.

Easy enough to solve. Erika just walked over to pull the lever and open the airways…

"Numel, Flamethrower!" a voice yelled.

A wave of fire shot out from the walk-in freezer, whose door had been left wide open. Erika hastily moved backward and narrowly avoided the attack just as Maxie and his Numel ran out.

"Guess I should thank Steven for tipping us off about your plan," Maxie sneered. "Wouldn't've known to come here without him, but there's no way you're going through with this!"

"Step aside, Maxie," Erika warned. "Don't make me force you out with Gloom!"

"By all means, try it," Maxie said, almost…invitingly.

Erika pulled out Gloom's Pokeball and sent it out. "Gloom," she said. "You know the drill by now."

"_Gloom, gloom,"_ Gloom replied, releasing the putrid gas from its bud. _"Gloom!"_

The noxious yellow cloud filled the room, but when it cleared, Maxie and Numel looked perfectly comfortable!

"Nice try," Maxie snorted. "But Numel's senses are pretty dull—it doesn't really mind a bad scent now and then."

"Bu-but what about—?" Erika stammered.

"Me?" Maxie guessed. "Oh, I'm wise to your little trick by now. Can't expect it to work forever, after all."

"What do you mean?" Erika demanded.

Maxie smirked and pointed to his nostrils. Inserted in them was the noseplug that he wore whenever they used the pool in gym class.

Erika scowled, but she had to admit that it was clever, and she did.

"Thanks," Maxie replied. "But flattery will get you nowhere. Face it: you're not getting past me."

"We'll see about that!" Erika shot back. "Gloom, use Stun Spore!"

"_Gloom!"_ Gloom replied, sending a cloud of glowing spores at Numel.

"Repel it with Ember!" Maxie ordered.

"_Numel, num!"_ Numel said, releasing dozens of glowing projectiles at the spores, destroying them on impact.

"Now give it a Flamethrower!" the land Pokemon-lover shouted.

"Spin and dodge!" Erika told Gloom.

Gloom nodded and spun like a ballerina, just barely managing to dodge the stream of fire that came its way.

"Try your Bullet Seed!" Erika suggested.

Gloom nodded and unleashed a barrage of glowing seeds at its opponent.

"Keep 'em away with Ember!" Maxie laughed, his grin spreading wider.

"_Num-numel,"_ Numel said, shooting another wave of embers that canceled out the seeds.

"Face it, Erika," Maxie jeered. "Close range, long range, it doesn't matter! My Numel can't lose to your pitiful Grass-type!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Out in the hallways, Steven and Jose had just caught up to Jason, Adrian, and Persephone.

"You guys just never stop meddling, do you?" Persephone snapped, just as Jose ducked into a closet, avoiding anyone's sight.

"Sorry, Pers," Steven said with a glare. "But you're not breaking out on our watch!"

"What do you losers care, anyway?" Jason sneered. "What's it to you if we leave?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Steven retorted. "Once the school board gets word of multiple students escaping like this, the school will get in major trouble—maybe even shut down! And I for one am not going to be forced to pack up my bags because of _you_!"

Persephone frowned and rolled her eyes. "How…noble," she said. "But this is as far as you go. Charon should make quick work of—."

"Hang on, boss!" Adrian interrupted. "Don't trouble yourself with _him_. You hurry and get the chopper, and Jason and I'll handle the pest problem."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "We'll crush 'im in a few seconds if we work together."

Persephone thought about this for a few seconds. "Well…okay," she said with a shrug. "But don't keep me waiting! We don't have all night!"

With that, Persephone turned and continued to run down the corridor.

"Well, well, well," Jason said, pulling out his Pokeball. "One last win before we break free—I love it. Go, Cubone!"

"Cranidos, prepare for battle!" Adrian shouted, tossing a ball of his own.

In a flash, the dinosaur-like Cranidos and the skull-wearing Cubone appeared and took battle stances.

Nobody except Steven noticed Jose sneak behind the reluctant students.

"Wait," Steven complained, doing everything he could to hold their attention until his roommate was out of sight. "Two against one? That's strictly against the official Pokemon League rules!"

"Too bad this isn't an official Pokemon League match!" Jason shot back.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed. "Now, unless you want our Pokemon to beat _you_ into the ground, I suggest you slightly delay the inevitable by using that weak little Aron of yours!"

With a growl, Steven threw his Pokeball forward and released his Aron.

"_A-aron?!"_ it stammered, gaping at the two menacing opponents.

"Don't worry, Aron," Steven reassured. "You can take 'em."

"Doubtful," Jason sneered. "Cubone, give it your Bone Club!"

"Cranidos, Headbutt!" Adrian ordered.

"Use Iron Defense, quick!" Steven yelled.

Aron nodded and curled up to protect itself just as Cubone struck it with its bone, knocking it aside for Cranidos to send crashing into a wall.

"Come on, Aron," Steven called. "We can do this! Give Cubone your Take Down!"

"_Aron!"_ Aron cried, leaping to its feet and sprinting at Cubone. _"Aron, aron, a-_ron_!" _

"Puh-lease!" Adrian groaned. "Cranidos, hit it to the side with Zen Headbutt!"

"_Cranidos!"_ Cranidos said gleefully, easily catching up to the slow Aron and butting it in the side, sending it off-course.

"And now a Bonemerang!" Jason chortled.

Cubone nodded and expertly tossed its weapon, striking Aron in the head and sending it skidding back as the bone returned to Cubone's hand.

"Iron Head!" Jason called.

"Headbutt!" Adrian laughed.

"_Cu-cubone!"_ Cubone yelled, charging at Aron with its head down, its skull attaining a slight glow as it did.

"_ARON!"_ Aron squealed, getting knocked back yet again.

"_Cranidos!"_ Cranidos cheered, smacking its opponent back at Cubone.

"_ARON, ARON!"_

Steven began to sweat. Cubone and Cranidos were knocking Aron around like a hockey puck, and its steel plating wouldn't protect it forever. He needed a plan, and quick!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Riolu, use your Quick Attack!" Riley ordered.

"Dodge and use Powder Snow!" Noel shouted.

Riolu sped forward to tackle Snover, but the Grass/Ice combination avoided it just in time, then raised its hand and shot a flurry of snowflakes that hit Riolu in the back.

"Not bad," Saoirse commented. "But it'll take a lot more than that to win! Riley!" she barked. "Up the stakes!"

"Of course, Saoirse," Riley replied blissfully. "Your wish is my command. Riolu," he yelled. "Force Palm attack!"

"_Riolu!"_ Riolu said, extending its paw as it ran at Snover.

"Quickly," Noel urged. "Counter with Razor Leaf!"

Snover nodded, then turned and repelled Riolu just in time with a barrage of sharp leaves.

"Brick Break!" Riley snarled.

"Meet it head-on with Powder Snow!" Noel commanded.

Riolu ran forward with its fist out, and Snover countered with another wave of snowflakes. This time, though, Riolu rushed through and knocked Snover onto its back with a strong punch.

"Snover!" Noel cried out.

"_Sno, snover," _Snover moaned, struggling to stand up.

"Now a Quick Attack!" Riley sneered.

Just as Snover managed to stand up, Riolu rushed over and knocked it back down.

"Now a Force Palm!" the indigo-clad boy urged.

"_Riolu!" _Riolu growled, running forward for another attack.

"_Sno-sno!"_ Snover cried, putting its hands over its eyes in fright.

Suddenly, Noel had an idea.

"Riolu, please stop!" she begged.

All attention suddenly shifted to the plain-looking girl. Even Riolu seemed to slow down.

"Come on!" she continued. "This is Riley fighting, not you! Saoirse's controlling him, and he's controlling you!"

"_Ri?"_ Riolu struggled to inquire.

"Come on, Riolu!" Noel called again. "You control aura, too! Break free and help me, please!"

"Ignore her, Riolu!" Riley ordered, looking increasingly enraged and crazy. "She's trying to trick you! What we're doing is for the greater good!"

"No, it's not!" Noel argued. "And I'm tired of keeping quiet and invisible! It's time my voice was heard! Riolu," she said. "Riley is being controlled. He has no idea what he's doing! Please, don't encourage him!"

Riolu looked back and forth between Noel and its trainer, looking more and more stressed as it struggled with its decision. Finally, the blue light around its body vanished and Riolu converted itself into red light and returned to its Pokeball.

Noel inwardly cheered as Riley glared. "Nice try," he growled. "But it won't work! Go, Riolu!"

Riley threw Riolu's Pokeball and it burst open to release a flash of light. This time, however, the light instantly receded back into the ball, which returned to Riley's hand.

"Looks like Riolu would rather sit this one out!" Noel commented as Snover jumped for joy.

"I-I'm sorry, my love," Riley stammered, his head drooping as he addressed Saoirse. "I've failed you."

Saoirse just smirked. "Nonsense," she replied. "You softened her up for me. Besides, the star of the show should _always _perform in the final act!"

"Star?" Noel shot back. "Gimme a break! I'll bet this was all Persephone's plan!"

"Maybe so," Saoirse responded with a glare. "But she's playing an essential minor role this time. She thought it was best that _I_ play the lead here! And I wouldn't have such a sharp tongue if _my_ Pokemon was so battered!" she added with a sneer.

Noel cast a glance back at Snover and wiped some sweat off her brow. _"Sno, sno,"_ it said, giving her a thumbs-up, but it clutched its stomach in agony a second later.

"This will be easy pickings," Saoirse commented, pulling out her seal-covered Pokeball. "Curtain call, Cleo!"

The beauty threw the ball and, in a swarm of pink and blue butterflies, her Illumise appeared.

"Why not start off easy?" Saoirse suggested. "Cleo, go in with Tackle."

"_Lu, lu,"_ Cleo chirped, before diving headfirst at Snover.

"Repel it with Powder Snow!" Noel ordered.

Snover raised its arm and launched a flurry of snowflakes at its opponent.

Cleo giggled slightly and flew aside to evade the Powder Snow, then flitted around and rammed Snover in the back.

"Try your Razor Leaf!" Noel commanded.

"Double Team, then Water Pulse!" Saoirse yelled.

Snover shot a barrage of razor-sharp leaves at its opposer, but Cleo created five clones of itself that took the attack and disappeared. While Noel and Snover wondered where the real one was, she struck from above with a glob of water that hit Snover on the top of its head.

"And I'm just warming up!" Saoirse laughed. "Wait until you see what I can _really_ do!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jose, meanwhile, was still chasing after Persephone, who was bolting down the halls as fast as she could.

"You jerks just never give up, do you!" she snapped. "You just can't let a genius work!"

Jose narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"Well, I know just how to shake you!" Persephone announced, reaching for her Pokeball. "Go, Charon!"

She threw the ball and Charon appeared, flying right behind her.

"Charon," she said. "Throw this loser off with Haze!"

"_Murkrow!"_ Charon squawked as a black smoke poured out of its beak, temporarily blinding Jose.

In his moment of confusion, Jose smacked into a door frame hard and fell down. Rubbing his forehead, which he discovered was bleeding, he waited for the smoke to clear and the pain to subside.

When the Haze attack disappeared, Jose saw that Persephone was long gone, but when he looked into the room past the door frame, he couldn't help but smile.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Another Headbutt, Cranidos!" Adrian ordered.

Cranidos ran at Aron with its head down and rammed it into a wall.

"Aron, hit Cranidos with Iron Head!" Steven begged.

"_Ar, aron," _Aron panted, running at Cranidos.

"Bonemerang!" Jason yelled.

Cubone tossed its bone, struck Aron on its overly-large head and knocked it into a wall, then opened its hand and caught the bone when it came back.

"You can't win," Adrian jeered. "Aron's taking way too much damage."

"And it's too slow to land a single attack," Jason added. "Stop this before it gets seriously hurt."

Steven sighed and held up Aron's Pokeball, ready to recall it.

"_A-aron, aron!"_ Aron suddenly yelled, shaking its head wildly. It looked more determined than ever to win.

"You really think you're up to this?" its trainer asked.

"_Aron, aron!" _Aron replied, nodding its big head.

"Your Aron's got guts," Jason complimented. "But without muscle to back it up, you'll never win. Now, Cubone," he shouted. "Another Bone Club!"

Cubone ran forward and struck Aron in the forehead with its bone, knocking it back.

"Another Zen Headbutt!" Adrian cried.

"_Crani-dos!"_ Cranidos shouted, running at Aron with its head down.

"_AR-RON!" _Aron screamed as it was batted to the middle of the hall, causing Steven to wince.

"Okay," Jason sighed. "I'm getting bored. Adrian," he said to his teammate. "Care to help me finish him?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Adrian chuckled. "Cranidos, finish it with Head Smash!"

"Cubone, hit it from the other side with Bone Club!" Jason commanded.

"_Cra, cra!"_ Cranidos hollered, its body enveloped in a blue glow as it ran at Aron.

"_Cubone-bone!"_ Cubone shouted, sprinting forward with its bone out.

Steven began sweating even harder. There was no way that Aron could survive this!

Unless…

"Aron, return!" Steven shouted, holding up Aron's Pokeball and recalling it.

Cranidos and Cubone collided with a horrible CRASH!, but it was Cubone that got the worst of it. The Lonely Pokemon was hit with the force of a big rig and smashed into the adjacent wall before falling over, its eyes filled with swirls.

"Cubone!" Jason screamed, his eyes wide.

"That was a pretty cowardly move," Adrian snarled as Jason returned Cubone to its Pokeball. "And an illegal one, at that."

"Who cares?" Steven shot back. "This isn't an official Pokemon League match! I just evened the playing field! Now that it's a fair fight, I'm ready to win! Come on, Aron!" he said, throwing his Pokeball. "Let's finish this!"

"_Aron!"_ the Iron Armor Pokemon said, taking a battle stance.

"Aron, give Cranidos your Iron Head!" Steven shouted.

"Meet it with Headbutt!" Adrian ordered.

Their heads down, Cranidos and Aron sprinted at each other at top speed, cringing as they met. The sheer force of the blow knocked both of them backwards.

"The tides have turned, Adrian," Steven said. "Steel-types like Aron have a big advantage over your Rock-type Cranidos!"

Adrian just growled. "Cranidos, Zen Headbutt!"

"Metal Claw!"

As Cranidos shot forward, its head down and glowing, Aron ducked down and clawed the Headbutt Pokemon in the belly with a glowing paw, knocking the wind out of it.

"Now finish it with one more Iron Head!" Steven cheered.

"_Aron!"_ Aron said with a nod. _"A-RON!"_

With one sharp thrust, Aron bashed its cranium right into its opponent's chin and sent it flying, landing on its back in front of its trainer.

"Cranidos!" Adrian cried. "Are you okay?"

"_Crani…dos…"_ the Headbutt Pokemon mumbled, just before losing consciousness.

Jason and Adrian were silent as the latter recalled his Pokemon.

"Looks like I win," Steven said simply, recalling his own.

Jason and Adrian looked at each other and nodded.

"Maybe so," Jason agreed. "But we still can't let you much up Persephone's plan."

Quick as a Ninjask, Jason was behind Steven, holding his arms tight behind his back. Then Adrian moved in and punched him in the face—hard. So hard that it knocked Steven out on the spot.

"Whoa," Jason commented, letting Steven drop. "How'd you do that?"

"When one arm does all the work, it gets all the benefits," his teammate explained. "Now come on, Persephone's waiting for us!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(Okay, now that the chapter's done, I feel like I should say something about the OCs you guys have sent in. I DON'T WANT TO BE "THIS GUY", BUT I FIND THAT TO GET A PROBLEM SOLVED, YOU HAVE TO ADDRESS IT. You see, the OCs I need are short-term, as in they won't be around long enough to be known fully. BECAUSE OF THAT, I NEED ONE-DIMENSIONAL CHARACTERS WITH QUIRKS, NOT THE ROUNDED CHARACTERS I KEEP GETTING. I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I needed to say it. Also, I'd appreciate some real mention of the chapter in the review, INSTEAD OF JUST "GOOD JOB, HERE'S THE OC". I mean, I work hard on this, and I want to hear more in-depth opinions. IS THAT SO WRONG? I'm sorry if I'm being bitchy, but that's how I feel. I'M SURE YOU CAN RELATE.

Anyway, this chapter's In-Depth segment will be on—

**Articuno, the Freeze Pokemon. Articuno is known to live high in icy mountains, where it sometimes appears to lost people. Its magnificently translucent wings are said to be made of ice, and it is capable of freezing the water in the air to make snow while flying. Articuno's appearance may be based on a bird of paradise, and its name is a combination of "arctic", referencing its Ice-type nature, and "uno", referencing that it is the first of the three original legendary birds. Its Japanese name "Furiza" is a corruption of the English word "freezer".**

Okay, thank you, Dextette! BTW, I'D LOVE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IN-DEPTH SEGMENT FROM YOU READERS! IT MAKES CHOOSING SO MUCH EASIER! THANK YOU, AND UNTIL NEXT TIME!)


	6. Rivalry

(And I'm back once again! NO APPLAUSE, PLEASE. ANYHOW, SORRY FOR THE LONGER-THAN-EXPECTED BREAK, BUT I'VE GOT THINGS TO DEAL WITH. Still, time for the thrilling conclusion to this story arc! Ready? IF NOT, TOO BAD!)

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Dog Days of Pokemon Tech**

**Chapter six: Rivalry**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

While Steven had managed to overcome his barriers (sort of…), Roxanne wasn't having as much luck.

"Another Thunder Wave!" she cried, pointing at Spheal.

"Dodge it, Spheal!" Archie shouted.

Nosepass fired a wave of electricity from its nose, but Spheal just rolled aside and dodged it with ease.

"Now another Water Gun!" the blue-clad boy ordered.

"_Spheal, spheal!"_ Spheal cheered, before dousing Nosepass with another jet of water.

"_Nosepass!" _Nosepass grunted, clearly in serious pain.

"Hang in there, Nosepass!" Roxanne called desperately. "You can win this, I just know it!"

"Fat chance," Archie jeered. "All land Pokemon suck, but Nosepass is one of the worst! It can't even move! There's no way it can beat my Spheal's fluid movements and awesome Water-type attacks!"

"_Spheal!" _his Spheal agreed.

"I don't just quit whenever things get difficult!" Roxanne shot back. "I'm not afraid of a challenge, and neither is Nosepass!"

"_Nose," _Nosepass concurred.

"Too bad," Archie said. "You really should be. Spheal, finish this with one more Water Gun!"

"_Sphe-_al_!" _Spheal shouted, spouting out even more water.

At that moment, Roxanne saw Nosepass do something that it had never done before. Though the Compass Pokemon stood as perfectly still as always, a strong wind was whipping around its body, and stirring up sand from who-knows-where. The sand intercepted the Water Gun and saved Nosepass from most of the damage it would've inflicted.

"Nosepass," Roxanne gasped, smiling wide. "Did you just learn Sandstorm?"

"_Nose, nose! Nosepass!" _Nosepass replied stiffly.

"That's incredible!" the brunette celebrated. "Great timing, Nosepass! I can always rely on you!"

"_Ahem,_" Archie said, getting back her attention. "If you're not too busy, Roxie, would you care to finish our battle?"

Roxanne shot Archie a glare. "_Don't_ call me 'Roxie'!" she snapped, trying to look as fierce as possible. It wasn't a very good job—Persephone could look scarier than that without even trying.

"Oh, you don't like that?" he mocked. "What're you gonna do about it, _Roxie_?"

"I'll just have to fight back," Roxanne said. She then savored her next three syllables like her favorite Goldenrod chocolate.

"Archibald."

Archie snarled and grinded his teeth. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he snarled, sounding like a provoked Mightyena.

"Doesn't feel too good being on the receiving end, huh, _Archibald_?" Roxanne taunted.

Archie seethed, but didn't reply. Finally, he shouted "Spheal, another Brine attack!"

"_Spheal, spheal, spheal!" _Spheal cheered, shooting out another gob of murky water.

"Defend with Sandstorm!" Roxanne commanded.

"_Nosepass!" _Nosepass responded, whipping up a tornado of sand around itself. _"Nose-nose-pass!"_

The Brine hit the Sandstorm, and was consequently splattered against the walls and Spheal itself.

"Now, Nosepass!" Roxanne cried as Spheal recoiled. "Hit it with a Thunder Wave!"

"_Nosepass, pass!" _Nosepass grunted, hitting Spheal with a burst of electricity that surrounded its body with sparks.

"Finish it up with Zap Cannon!"

Nosepass charged up and fired a powerful beam of electrical energy, but just before it could hit its mark, Spheal was converted into red light and returned to its Pokeball.

"I give," was all Archie said before he ran off.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged and got to work moving the desk.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Try your Powder Snow again, Snover!" Noel pleaded. By now she was grasping at straws.

Snover nodded and sent another flurry of snowflakes at Cleo.

"Dodge and Water Pulse!" Saoirse laughed.

Cleo giggled and moved out of the way of the assault, then shot down a glob of water that hit Snover in the face.

"You just insist on fighting a losing battle, don't you?" Saoirse sneered as she saw Snover cowering. "Your Pokemon is taking a beating, and you just refuse to quit while you're behind!"

Noel winced for a second, trying to fight back tears as she responded.

"Stop trying to convince me to quit!" she shouted. "I'm not one of your boy toys to be manipulated and controlled! I may have been a wallflower just earlier today, but no more! From now on _I _control who I am and what I do, and you can't stop me!"

Saoirse glared at Noel for a few seconds. Then, out of nowhere, she began to giggle. "A stirring speech," she congratulated. "You're right in that I can't sway your decisions. But the same can't be said of your Snover."

"What?" Noel said, none too brightly.

"Snow her, Cleo," Saoirse laughed. "Use Attract!"

"_Illumise!" _Cleo chirped, creating a big pink heart between its hands and shooting it at Snover. _"Illu-illumise!"_

The heart struck Snover right between the eyes, but didn't knock Snover back. Instead, it just absorbed into the Pokemon's forehead and turned its eyes into hearts.

"Snover!" Noel shouted. "Try to shake it off!"

Snover ignored its trainer, instead choosing to stare lovingly at Cleo.

From there, what was already a one-sided fight became an outright massacre. Cleo launched assault after assault, but Snover was too infatuated to even defend itself, let alone fight back. It took a Water Pulse, two Silver Winds and a Thunderpunch without mounting a counterattack.

"Your Snover can certainly take a lot of punishment," Saoirse commented. "I suppose that's admirable. Still, everyone has their limits, and I'd say Snover's just about reached his."

Noel secretly agreed. Snover could barely even stay on its feet at this point.

"Silly Noel," Saoirse cackled. "You actually thought that _you_, a plain-Jane weakling, could upstage the star of the show? Don't make me laugh! All the world's a stage, sweetie, and you're just a makeup artist, here to make the rest of us look good! Now, Cleo," she ordered. "Finish this with one more Tackle!"

Cleo flew straight up, then turned downward to dive-bomb Snover. Then, out of nowhere—

"Charge Beam!" a haughty voice called out.

Out of the blue, Cleo was struck in the side with a beam of yellow energy and knocked off-course.

Saoirse, Cleo, Noel, and Snover all turned their heads in unison to see the source of the attack. There, looking absolutely livid, were Vienna and Lila.

"'Star of the show', huh?" the spoiled brat quoted. "Well, not anymore! You've upstaged Vienna Silton for the last time, _Sor_-shaw!"

"'_Seer_-shaw'!" Saoirse corrected. "And what do you think you're doing? Persephone will be furious when she finds out about this!"

"I don't care!" Vienna snapped. "I'm not going to be shoved aside for some Junior Miss runner-up! I'm more of a treasure than you'll ever be!"

Saoirse's eyes twitched at this outburst, and a vein bulged in her forehead.

"You-you dare try to steal _my _spotlight?!" she stammered. "That's it! I don't care what Persephone will say! I'm putting you in your place! Cleo, use Thunderpunch!"

"_Illumise!" _Cleo buzzed, swooping down on Lila with a sparking fist out.

"Ice Beam, Lila!" Vienna ordered.

Lila meowed and struck Cleo in the chest with a blue beam, knocking it away.

"Step down, _Sasha_," Vienna yelled. "I'm taking my place as queen of the school back!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Another Stun Spore, Gloom!" Erika cried.

"Ember attack, Numel," Maxie said coolly.

Once again, Gloom released a cloud of golden spores, and once again Numel obliterated them with a barrage of glowing embers.

Erika began to pant. She needed an idea, quick! None of Gloom's attacks were breaching Numel's defenses. She had to hand it to Maxie—it was pretty clever to take a bunch of offensive attacks and turn them into a defensive strategy. Still, she had to do something before Gloom's energy was completely gone!

"Now go on the offensive, Numel!" Maxie commanded. "Give Gloom your Flamethrower!"

"Dodge it, Gloom!" Erika pleaded.

As Numel breathed out a stream of flame, Gloom spun and moved aside, but not fast enough. Its right arm and part of its bud were badly singed by the attack.

"_Gloom, glooooom!" _Gloom howled miserably.

"_This is bad!" _Erika thought. _"Gloom can't take much more! My only hope is to get in close, but how?"_

"I've got it!" she exclaimed just seconds later, her big eyes lighting up. "Gloom, use your stench and Stun Spore at the same time!"

"_Gloom?" _Gloom inquired, but it did what it was told, soon filling the air with a cloud of toxic-smelling vapor and spores. _"Gloom, gloom!"_

"You think that _that_ will stop Numel?" Maxie laughed. "You must be getting pretty desperate, Erika! Numel," he ordered. "Blow it back with Ember!"

"_Numel, numel," _Numel grunted, firing another wave of embers into the cloud.

"That wasn't supposed to _stop _it!" Erika corrected. "I just needed a diversion! Now, Gloom," she yelled. "Hit it with Return!"

All of a sudden, Gloom charged out of the sparkling yellow cloud, its body enveloped in a bright pink aura. It tackled Numel in the side with all of its strength, sending it crashing into an oven door for critical damage.

"Great work!" Erika cheered. "Now move in and finish it with Petal Dance!"

Gloom nodded and ran at Numel, a tornado of pink flower petals surrounding its body.

"Stop it in its tracks with Flamethrower!" Maxie yelled.

"_Num-num," _Numel agreed, shooting a jet of flame from its mouth. _"NUM-MEL!"_

To everyone's surprise, the Flamethrower did anything but stop Gloom. It struck dead-on, but the layer of petals acted as a buffer of sorts and protected Gloom from the full front of the attack. To be sure, Gloom was taking damage, but the power of its attack was increasing ten-fold!

Now, if Maxie had stayed the course with the Flamethrower, he _might _have won by stopping Gloom before it could hit Numel. As it was, he chickened out and decided to just stall Erika further.

"Change targets, Numel!" he shouted. "Hit the vent instead!"

Numel consented and turned its head away from Gloom, concentrating all of its power on the vent's metal grate, superheating it and welding it in place.

In a few seconds, Gloom slammed into Numel and knocked it out. Maxie said nothing, simply recalling his Pokemon, sticking his tongue out at Erika, and bolting out the door.

Erika glared and watched him leave, then recalled her Gloom and focused on the vent. There was no way that she could open the grate now—it was white-hot and welded shut!

Luckily, Erika was a problem-solver by nature. She knew what she had to do, and that was to break the grate.

To do that, she'd need to cool it down. That was the easy part: all kitchens have a fire extinguisher for emergencies. Erika found it strapped to the wall behind her. She grabbed it and, with some effort, began to spray the grate. After a minute or two, it was ready for the next step.

Part two would be a little more difficult; she needed something sturdy enough to break the grate. She rummaged through the drawers, trying to find something of use. She started with a wooden rolling pin, but she found it nowhere near strong enough. Finally, she decided on a meat tenderizing mallet and began to pound away, sweat drenching her brow.

"_This may take a while…" _she thought to herself, cursing hour formal attire's poor suiting for manual labor.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back in the gymnasium, Vienna and Saoirse's battle was getting more and more heated.

"Hit it hard with Tackle!" Saoirse commanded.

"Lila, you use Tackle, too!" Vienna ordered.

The two Pokemon rushed at each other at top speed, but at the last second Cleo flitted to the left, then doubled back and went to strike Lila from behind.

"Keep it away with Doubleslap!" Vienna screeched, her anime vein growing larger and larger.

Lila mewed and, when Cleo neared, she began batting the Firefly Pokemon this way and that with her long tail.

"Break free with Silver Wind!" Saoirse yelled, anime fangs bared.

"_Illu, illumise!" _Cleo managed to chirp between strikes from the Skitty's tail. It began to beat its small wings harder, and conjured up a barrage of silver crescents that blew Lila back.

"That won't stop us!" Vienna cried, shaking her head furiously. "Lila, give Cleo another Ice Beam!"

Lila let out an angry hiss as she turned and shot a narrow blue beam at her opponent.

"Dodge and use Thunderpunch!" Saoirse commanded.

Cleo nodded and avoided the beam just in time, then flew up and struck Lila with a sparking fist.

"Great!" Saoirse cheered. "Now just one more to finish it off!"

"_Illumise!" _Cleo laughed, flying at the Skitty for one last Thunderpunch.

"Use Mimic!" Vienna suddenly shouted, taking Saoirse by surprise. She didn't know that Skitty could learn that!

Lila concentrated on the foe ahead of her, learning its methods. Then, just as Cleo neared, Lila struck her with an electric jab—with her tail!

Cleo was knocked back, absolutely shocked (no pun intended) by this sudden turn of events.

"Now finish it with Tackle!" Vienna giggled.

Lila mewed joyously as she sprinted forward, tackling Cleo into a wall and knocking her out cold.

Saoirse glared daggers at Vienna, but the rich dimwit met it with her own foul look. Both quite literally had fire in their eyes. After all, it was anime.

"Hah!" Vienna jeered, pointing at Cleo's unconscious form. "I win! Now do you see what happens when you try to steal _my _place, you status-grabbing wannabe? _I'm _queen of this school, and _nothing _is going to change that!"

"Snover, use Razor Leaf!" a voice cried out.

At that second, a barrage of sharpened leaves struck Lila, knocking her out.

Vienna and Saoirse both turned to see the attacker. It was Noel, of course.

"There are advantages to going unnoticed," she said with a grin.

"Nice work, _your highness_!" Saoirse shouted at Vienna. "Now we're both out of Pokemon to fight her off!"

"It's not _my _fault!" Vienna squealed. "You call yourself the star of the show, but you don't even notice what's around you!"

Saoirse's eyes lit up.

"'What's around me'?" she echoed. "That's it!"

With great haste, the goddess Saoirse spritzed on more of the pheromone perfume, then addressed the boys in the gymnasium again.

"Forget the battles!" she shouted. "Get Noel!"

The boys instantly dropped what they were doing and started to run up to the stage. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped. A yellow-brown gas cloud was creeping out of a vent on the wall, and the boys who inhaled it seemed to stop in their tracks and hold their noses, confused.

"What happened?" Vienna asked, looking around. "Why'd they stop?"

Noel began to giggle at this. "Looks like we found something that stinks worse than your perfume, Saoirse!" she laughed. "You're losing more control by the second!"

Saoirse gasped. The new scent that was creeping in was stronger than the pheromone! Soon the boys would be completely back to normal!

Saoirse looked around the room for exits. The doors were out—they were still blocked by the buffet table; the vent was out of the question, too—that scent could render her unconscious before she could get out; and the only windows she could see were across the stage, past Noel. There was only one thing she could do to get to them.

"Hey, Noel!" she shouted. "You want to be noticed so bad? Here!"

With that, the flawless beauty pulled out the perfume bottle and hurled it as hard as she could at Noel's stomach. The fragile bottle shattered and the contents splashed all over the plain girl, drenching her and ruining her dress.

Now, a couple of spritzes of that pheromone on Saoirse was enough to capture the attention of every boy in the gym, so the whole bottle was obviously going to do _something_, even on someone as hard to notice as Noel and with the stench of Gloom creeping through the air. The mixture of the two odors caused mass confusion, and Saoirse used that opportunity to grab Vienna and get to the window, only to find that it was the kind that didn't open.

Luck was with our antagonists, though, as Saoirse and Vienna spotted their five allies (six if you count Charon) outside. Saoirse beat on the glass with all her might, trying to get their attention, but to no avail.

"Oh, let me!" Vienna shouted, shoving Saoirse aside. "If there's one thing Vienna Silton knows how to do, it's get people's attention!"

With that, Vienna ripped off one of her high heels and started banging it on the window, making a much louder noise.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

BANG! BANG!

"Did you guys hear something?" Adrian asked, skidding to a stop.

"Yeah," Maxie replied. "I think so."

"It's coming from over there," Jason informed, pointing to the left.

The five kids and Charon stared over at the window, where they saw Vienna banging on a gym window with her shoe, both her and Saoirse looking frantic.

"They need to get out!" Persephone realized. "Charon, break the window with Shadow Ball!"

"_Murkrow!" _Charon squawked, opening its beak and firing a ball of dark energy at the window. Unfortunately, the window was made of reinforced glass, and the attack just bounced off.

Persephone cursed at the top of her lungs. "Anybody got anything stronger?" she asked.

"Cranidos could probably break it," Adrian sighed. "But it's out of commission."

"Same," Maxie and Jason said.

"Spheal could probably shatter that with Ice Ball," Archie suggested. "But Roxanne and that Nosepass of hers paralyzed it, so unless anyone's got some Paralyze Heal…"

"Well…" Maxie said with a smug grin. "I can't say I have _that_, but I do have _something_."

Maxie reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic bottle.

"Cheri berry lassi?" Jason said, reading the label.

"My favorite," Maxie replied. "I snatched it for the road when I was in the kitchen. And, as you know, Cheri berries cure paralysis."

"Well, hand it over!" Archie demanded.

"Not unless you admit once and for all that land Pokemon are superior to sea Pokemon!"

"Not on your life!"

At that second, Persephone grabbed his arm and began to twist it. "Give it to him, _Maximillian_," she seethed. "Unless you'd like to lose this arm!"

"Don't even joke," Adrian snapped, pointing to his sling.

"Okay, okay," Maxie surrendered, handing Archie the bottle. "And please, DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Archie sent out his Spheal, which still had a blue spark around it, and poured the lassi into its mouth, causing the spark to vanish.

"_Spheal, spheal!" _the Pokemon whooped, glad to be cured.

"Spheal, hit that window with Ice Ball!" Archie ordered.

"_Spheal-spheal-spheal!" _Spheal responded happily. It opened its big mouth and formed a ball of ice the size of a baseball over it, then lobbed it at the window. However, the ball just bounced off.

"Again!" Archie commanded.

Spheal made another ball, this one the size of a cantaloupe, and threw it over. This time, a tiny crack appeared in the window.

"Again!"

Spheal threw yet another ball, this one the size of a basketball, this time creating a large series of cracks.

"Once more!"

Spheal created one more ball, this one the size of a beach ball, and threw it at the window. Saoirse and Vienna ducked aside just in time as the Ice Ball smashed through and shattered the window into thousands of pieces.

"Thanks, guys," Saoirse said as she climbed out, then pulled Vienna through. "Things were getting ugly in there."

"Come on," Persephone instructed. "Let's get out of here!"

"Hang on," Archie said. He held up Spheal's Pokeball and recalled it, then sent it back out. "Spheal, hit that window with Water Gun, then Powder Snow!" he yelled.

Spheal clapped and shot a jet of water, then a flurry of snowflakes, creating a layer of ice over the destroyed window.

"Okay," Archie said, recalling Spheal for the third time that night. "Let's get to that chopper!"

The seven students raced across the lawn as fast as they could to get to the open-roofed shed where the school helicopter was kept. Persephone pulled on the door, which was obviously locked. She rolled her eyes and took out her master key to unlock it when Jason tapped her on the shoulder. "Uh, Pers," he said. "We've got company."

Persephone turned to see Jose running after them. His movements were erratic and he was clutching a hand to his forehead, which was slowly dripping blood. Clearly that bump had been a bad one.

Despite this trouble, the well-dressed boy was insistent on getting to them, and he looked pretty angry as he marched up to them. His jacket seemed puffier than before, too.

"A hero to the end, eh, Jose?" Persephone smirked, Charon cackling above her. "It's admirable, but you can't stop us now. You don't have a Pokemon, and you could never take all of us on in a fight, especially in your condition. Face it: we win."

Jose just glared and unbuttoned his jacket. About three dozen Pokeballs fell out.

"Where'd he get all those?!" Archie gasped.

"He must've stopped at a Pokemon storage room!" Jason realized.

Two by two, Jose threw the Pokeballs and released the Pokemon inside for a battle. Though Charon and Spheal fought valiantly, the fact remained that they were horribly outnumbered, and they lost in less than a minute.

"Just ten feet short of victory…" Persephone groaned.

"Not so fast!" Saoirse suddenly yelled. "I've still got a little pheromone on me!"

She ran up to Jose and stood with her face just millimeters from his. "Come on, Jose," she begged as sweetly as she could. "Recall those nasty Pokemon and just let us go. Please? For me?"

Jose just shook his head and ordered the Pokemon to tie them up. Through Wrap, Bind, String Shot, and Vine Whip attacks, Persephone's team was immobilized.

Just a few minutes later, Johanna, Mr. North, Coach Gold, and Principal Gonzales arrived, along with Roxanne and Erika.

"You kids are in a lot of trouble!" Coach Gold screamed, his face turning bright red. "You're lucky that corporal punishment's been outlawed! In the old days, I'd—!"

"Calm yourself, Theodore," Principal Gonzales told the coach. "Yelling will solve nothing right now. As it is, we should be thanking Jose, Erika, Steven, and Roxanne for averting this near-crisis."

"That's quite an injury," Johanna commented, staring at Jose's forehead. "Who did this?"

Woozily, Jose pointed to himself, and Johanna looked confused.

"We're not about to get any clear answers out of him in his current state," Principal Gonzales commented, pulling his moustache nervously. "Theodore, please escort Jose here to the infirmary. Ms. Joy should easily be able to handle him _and _young Mr. Stone."

Coach Gold grunted and gently threw Jose over his shoulder. With a dirty look toward Persephone, he walked off. "It's all right, kid," he could be heard telling Jose. "You're gonna be fine."

"As for the Pokemon," the principal continued when Coach Gold was out of earshot. "Erika, Roxanne, Christopher, Johanna, if you would be kind enough to return them to storage, I'd be very appreciative."

"Of course, sir," Mr. North said. "But the others…"

"I shall take care of it," the principal said patiently. "Please meet me in the detention room when you're done. As for you two," he added, turning to Erika and Roxanne. "Please report to your rooms until further notice."

The two students and the two teachers nodded and began to recall the school Pokemon back into their Pokeballs. When they were finished, they loaded them into their arms and headed back to the school.

When they were gone, Principal Gonzales silently pulled out a Pokeball and hurled it into the air.

A Pokemon appeared in a flash of light. It was quite large, and robin's egg blue in color. It looked like a squat, four-legged dinosaur with big green leaves and a leviathan pink flower growing out of its back.

"Venusaur, please use your Vine Whip to help me escort these students to detention," the principal requested.

"_Saur," _the Venusaur obliged, stretching seven long green vines from beneath its flower. It wrapped the vines around the students' waists and hoisted them into the air, then followed its trainer back to the school.

"What do you think we're in for?" Maxie inquired, having learned long ago that struggling against Principal Gonzales' Venusaur was futile.

"Dunno," Jason shrugged. "Even for us, this was pretty bad."

"I'm starting to regret ever talking to you, Persephone!" Saoirse hissed.

"Hey, at least one part of the plan worked," Persephone shrugged. "We're sure to be legends for _this_, even if we _are_ expelled!"

"I'll remember that in military school!" Archie snapped.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Within minutes our seven antagonists were seated in the detention room, facing down the entire staff of teachers.

"How exactly can we punish this?" Ms. Goyal pondered.

"It _is _a puzzle," Mr. Grady said, scratching his head. "In all my years as an educator, I have never seen such terrible misbehavior in students! What are we to do? Detention? Suspension? Expulsion?"

"Just chuck 'em in juvie!" Coach Gold grunted, his Hitmonchan nodding.

"Maybe we should call their parents and let _them _decide…" Johanna suggested.

Suddenly, Persephone got an evil grin. "Yeah," she agreed. "Be sure to tell them about how you allowed a bunch of children to gain access to a potentially hazardous chemical, left every child in this school unsupervised at once to discipline a couple of bickering nine-year-olds, _and _allowed a small group of students to lock the entire teaching staff in a closet!"

Principal Gonzales' bronze face turned white. "Everyone," he said quickly. "I request an emergency meeting in the hall, immediately! Theodore," he said to Coach Gold. "Please watch these students for a moment."

Coach Gold nodded as the rest of the staff walked into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

"I'm afraid we can't punish them," the principal whispered, tugging his moustache faster and faster.

"What?!" Ms. Goyal hissed. "We can't just condone this sort of behavior! Something must be done!"

"If we punish them, we'll have to tell their parents why, and if we don't, _they _will!" the principal replied, gesturing to the students. "We can't allow this to get out—the school will almost certainly be shut down, and none of us will ever teach again!"

"No!" Mr. North panicked. "Teaching is my life! I can't lose this job!"

"Well, we can't just forget that this ever happened!" Johanna argued.

"I don't intend for _us _to forget anything," Principal Gonzales replied with a frown.

Mr. Jackson-Wright, the grey-haired, bespectacled, potbellied school psychologist, was the only one who didn't seem puzzled by this statement. He just looked horrified.

"Caesar," he gasped. "You can't possibly be suggesting—?"

"I am," Principal Gonzales told him. "We'll use your Hypno to wipe the memory of this event from the entire student body and pretend that it never happened."

The teachers cringed at this suggestion, but only one spoke up. It was Ms. Joy, the slender, redheaded woman that did triple duty teaching both the Health and Pokemon Care classes, as well as acting as the school nurse.

"Sir, I'm afraid I can't allow that," she said, polite but _very _firm. "Such an act is highly unethical, and likely illegal. If you go through with it, I can personally guarantee that the school board will be informed."

To everyone's surprise, Principal Gonzales got physical. He leapt behind Ms. Joy and held her arms tight to his side. "Andrew!" he ordered. "Wipe her memory, now!"

Mr. Jackson-Wright winced slightly and released a yellow, humanoid Pokemon with a furry white collar that carried a pendulum.

"Wipe her memory with Hypnosis," he sighed.

Hypno nodded and began swinging its pendulum as psychic waves came out of it toward Ms. Joy. The teachers averted their gazes, and Ms. Joy tried to close her eyes, only for Principal Gonzales to force them open. She froze in place until Hypno finished the attack and its trainer recalled.

"What was I doing again?" Ms. Joy asked, confused as the principal released her.

"You were about to check on Jose and Steven in the infirmary," Principal Gonzales told her. "Steven has a terrible bruise, and Jose has a nasty cut."

Ms. Joy nodded and walked off.

"Anyone else?" the principal asked, looking around.

The teachers all shook their heads.

"Good. We've all done too much work to lose all credibility in a single night."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

And so, the teachers called a mandatory assembly in the cafeteria, where they used Hypno to wipe the student body's memories of the night. Only a few avoided this fate: Persephone's mind was far too determined to be affected by hypnosis, Jose passed out due to all the blood he'd lost just before Hypno was called out, and Noel hadn't shown up, needing to take a three-hour shower to get the pheromone off. None of them ever told anyone what happened that night, but there were other benefits to remembering. Persephone grew more determined and got Saoirse back on her side the next day; Jose kept a closer eye on Persephone; and Noel kept her newfound confidence, finally working up the courage to ask Riley out (purely metaphorical, as they couldn't leave the school), which he gladly accepted, and the two became much, much closer.

All in all, not bad for a night's work.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(WHEW! THAT WAS A DOOZY, DON'T YOU THINK? Personally, I thought it got very dramatic there. Well, as per a reviewer's request, THIS CHAPTER'S POKEMON IN-DEPTH SEGMENT IS ON—

**Ditto, the Transform Pokemon. This unique Pokemon has the ability to rearrange its cellular structure to become an almost perfect duplicate of another Pokemon. It is also capable of transforming into inanimate objects. In fact, it takes the form of a rock when sleeping to remain safe. Ditto's transformations are not always completely perfect, however. Some Ditto are unable to mimic faces, and in rare cases, sizes. They also will appear sloppy if done from memory, and it cannot maintain a transformation if it begins to laugh. Ditto has the unique ability to mate with almost any other Pokemon, and can act as either the mother or the father. Ditto's appearance is likely based on an amoeba, a unicellular organism with no definite shape. It may also be based on an undifferentiated cell, a cell in the body that can change into any other cell in the body by sampling it. Its name is simply the word "ditto", a substitute for repeating what somebody else has just said. Its Japanese name "Metamon", is a combination of "metamorph", "monster", and possibly "transformation".**

Thank you, Dextette. NOW, I'M STILL ACCEPTING OC'S (one-dimensional, not rounded, if you please), AND I'M ALWAYS UP FOR SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IN-DEPTH SEGMENT. ANYBODY GOT A POKEMON THEY WANT TO LEARN A LOT MORE ABOUT? JUST SAY THE WORD and it could be up next chapter. UNTIL THEN, PLEASE LEAVE LONG REVIEWS!)


	7. Early Bird

(Okay, it's been a while, but I've got a whole new chapter for all you loyal readers (WELL, WHICHEVER ONES ARE _STILL _LOYAL, ANYWAY—I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU GETTING FRUSTRATED AND LEAVING)! This chapter features insight on a character's past, BUT DON'T WORRY, THERE'S PLENTY OF ACTION, TOO! ENJOY!)

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Dog Days of Pokémon Tech**

**Chapter Seven: Early Bird**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I feel that the first sentence from Dickens' classic "A Tale of Two Cities" would fit well here.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief; it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light; it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope; it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us; we had nothing before us; we were all going straight to Heaven; we were all going straight the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

A fitting description of Parents' Night, I'd say.

It was three weeks after the dance, and the entire school had gathered in the cafeteria for this event. Some students were nervous about what their teachers might say. Others were afraid of what their parents might say. Still others were excited to show off. But the majority of the children were just glad to finally see somebody from back home.

Students and parents embraced each other with open arms, so pleased to see each other. In many cases, you could easily see that the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree—Roxanne's father, for example, was a slim, dark-haired man in a grey business suit who seemed to radiate intelligence, while Erika's mother was a short, pretty woman with big eyes and the scent of a flowery perfume with an aura of kindness about her.

On the other hand, Noel's dad was a tan, towheaded guy with a boisterous attitude and a loud voice, completely unlike his daughter. You know this type of parent—the one who likes to brag about their kid and doesn't realize it's embarrassing.

This group of six had just gathered to meet and greet when Riley walked up, accompanied by an elderly man dressed all in indigo. Despite his age, he seemed perfectly sturdy.

"Hey, girls," Riley greeted. "This is my grandpa. Gramps, this is Roxanne, Erika, and Noel."

The three girls grinned and waved, and Riley's grandfather broke out in a huge smile. "Oho!" he laughed. "So _this _is the Noel I've heard so much about! She looks like a sweet one!"

"You've got a real ladies' man there," Noel's father chortled, before extending a hand. "Call me Christian. I'm Noel's father."

"Raiden," Riley's grandpa replied, vigorously shaking it. "And yes, I'm quite proud of him."

"Who knows?" Christian chuckled. "We may just be planning a wedding soon!"

I'm sure Riley and Noel would want me to cut away right now, so I will, over to Persephone's clique. A few of their parents had already arrived. Maxie and Archie's moms were there, Archie's a stout, dark-haired woman in a deep blue gown and a large sapphire brooch, and Maxie's a thin redhead in a scarlet tracksuit and ruby earrings. The two had arrived just in time to break up a fight between their sons and started a cheerful conversation with one another.

It wasn't long before Vienna's father arrived. He was a short, balding man with a piercing gaze and a half-dozen pagers strapped to his belt. "Pumpkin!" he cried, holding his arms wide.

"Daddy!" Vienna called back, embracing him in a big hug.

"How's my little tax shelter?" Mr. Silton chuckled, tussling her hair with his palm. "Making lots of friends?"

"Of course, daddy!" Vienna replied. "Are you making lots of money?"

"You tell me," her dad winked.

Mr. Silton reached into his pocket and handed Vienna a sterling silver, diamond-encrusted tennis bracelet. "Stocks are climbing higher and higher," he laughed. "Last week, my accountants threw a party!"

Archie and Maxie's moms' eyes suddenly went wide as they sped over to Mr. Silton.

"Oh, you're a lucky man to have such a sweet, beautiful daughter," Maxie's mom said smoothly.

"Your…_wife_ must be very happy," Archie's mom hinted.

"Actually, I'm divorced," Mr. Silton told them. "Too bad, really—I have so much love to give…"

"Oh, that's too bad!" Archie's mom said right away. "I'm Arianna."

"And I'm Maxine," Maxie's mom stated, pushing Arianna aside.

That's when the catfight broke out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Across the room, Steven, Jose, and Russell had adjourned to the snack table when two others walked up to them. One was a short, grey-haired man in a grey suit with a neatly-trimmed grey moustache. The other was an elegant, blue-haired man in a showy white outfit, complete with white beret and white silk cape with blue velvet lining inside.

"Hey, dad," Steven said, holding a tray of snacks over to the grey-haired one. "Pig in a blanket?"

"Thanks, Steven," his dad grinned, taking one of the _hors d'euvres_.

Jose, meanwhile, ran over to the blue-haired man and hugged him tight.

"It's good to see you, too, Jose," the man said, in a deeper voice than expected. "I've certainly missed you."

"You look familiar," Steven's dad commented toward the man. "Have we met before?"

"Unlikely," the man replied, gently letting go of Jose. "But you may have heard of me: Wallace, professional coordinator and Jose's…_god_father…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Up against a nearby wall, Persephone and Jason were watching all the family reunions with contempt.

"Check out Adrian's ma and pa!" Jason laughed. "I think they're just visiting from the fifties!"

It was true—Adrian's dad had short-cut black hair, brown loafers, blue slacks, a brown vest over a white shirt, and a pipe, and his mom had curly blonde hair and wore a polka-dotted dress and red high heels. Not only that, but they kept using outdated words like "nifty" and "keen", and, on top of that, they were obsessed with improving the school's safety protocols, insisting that there should be more sprinklers on the ceiling and non-skid mats in the showers.

"That's nothing!" Persephone giggled. "Look at Saoirse's mom!"

Saoirse obviously took after her mother. That woman could give a boner to a blind monk! She (like her daughter, obviously) was of Japanese ancestry, and had flowing obsidian hair, pearly white teeth, eyes like emeralds, and a trim figure held up by long legs and tiny feet. She was currently working on Mr. Silton, and, unlike Arianna and Maxine, she seemed to be doing quite well.

Jason and Persephone continued to laugh until they could hardly breathe.

"So," Persephone said, trying to catch her breath. "Where are _your _parents?"

"Eh," Jason replied with a wave of his hand. "Mom's been gone for over a year now, and Dad's…well, he's not coming. Yours?"

"Mom said she'd get here late," the albino girl replied. "With luck, she won't make it."

Persephone was disappointed in just a few minutes when her mother walked in. She was the spitting image of Persephone, but with Russell's hair, eyes, and complexion, and she was still in her police uniform. Though Russell was eager to meet with her, Persephone preferred to stay distant until the teachers' reports, where she stayed closer to her mom than she had since she was in the womb.

I won't bother you with all the reports for everyone, as that would be sure to bore you. I'm sure you know that Jose only had trouble with oral reports, and that Roxanne was shooting straight toward valedictorian, and all that. What matters here is what they said about Persephone.

"She's quite bright," Mr. Grady had said. "But she seems to show a lot of contempt for the actual work."

"A delightfully smart girl," was what Mr. North informed. "But not all that delightful to be around. She has a few friends, but she's rather disliked by the other students, due to her somewhat…prickly personality."

"I don't know how many times I've sent her to the principal's office," Ms. Goyal told Ms. Jenny. "She's quite an anxious one, and is very eager to leave the school."

"I've lost count of how many times I've treated Charon," Ms. Joy reported. "Persephone gets into a lot of battles between classes, likely because she needs something to do with her time. I've suggested a variety of hobbies—needlepoint, painting, choir—but she's rejected them all.

"She's a troublemaker, plain and simple," Coach Gold grunted. "Plays rough, pranks the other students, mouths off to me, and refuses to come to my outdoor classes without that umbrella! Good soccer forward, though."

"I just don't understand, Caesar," Persephone's mother said to Principal Gonzales after hearing all of these. "Persephone was always so well-behaved at home."

"No, she wasn't!" Russell argued. "She was always like this! You even sent here because she and Charon—mmf! Mmmf, mmf!"

"Don't _ever_ mention that!" Persephone threatened, clapping a hand over her brother's mouth.

"It could be any number of reasons, Demeter," Principal Gonzales said smoothly—almost flirtingly. "Lack of a proper role model, a façade to cover insecurity, a desire for attention…"

"I don't think so…" Demeter pondered. "Persephone was never shy or insecure, and always found acceptable ways to get attention. She was a six-time Junior Miss, after all."

At this statement, several students did spit takes, stunned that the Persephone they knew and feared had actually won no less than _six _beauty pageants!

"For real?!" Archie and Maxie exclaimed.

"Yes," Demeter said dreamily. "She was crowned Little Miss Olivine four years running, and Little Miss Johto twice. She was so sweet back then…"

"Dude!" Steven whispered to Russell. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"She's not embarrassed," Russell said simply.

"And she shouldn't be," Principal Gonzales commented. "That's quite an accomplishment. Still, I have no idea what provoked this change in her," he told Demeter. "You're her mother. Perhaps _you _have a theory?"

Demeter thought for a moment, and then scowled as she came up with an answer.

"Charon," she growled.

"What?" Persephone whimpered, clutching Charon's Pokeball tight.

"That Murkrow has always been trouble!" her mother said. "I put up with it until now because you were so excited over your first capture, but now I can clearly see that it was a big mistake! Charon was a bad influence from day one! It's led you into all sorts of intolerable acts! Well, I'm putting a stop to it right now!"

"What does _that _mean?!" Persephone gasped, squeezing Charon's ball even tighter.

"It means no more Charon!"

Despite Persephone's grip, Demeter swiftly and easily wrenched the ball from her daughter.

"Here, Caesar," she said, handing it to Principal Gonzales. "I'm entrusting this to you until I find a more permanent solution."

"Of course, Demeter," the principal said amorously. "But perhaps you should think about this for a moment. Charon _is _Persephone's first and only Pokémon—."

"Russell doesn't have a Pokémon and he's doing just fine," Demeter interjected, and quite sternly at that. "Persephone will find a new starter and bounce back, but Charon has got to go!"

Persephone opened her mouth to argue, but closed it before any words could come out. She knew it was pointless. Once her mother had made up her mind, she became impossible to sway. Like mother, like daughter, really.

This was truly a dark time in Persephone's life.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

If you're ever had to give away a pet because somebody in your family is allergic, you might have some idea of how Persephone felt that night. After the parents had spent a couple of hours catching up with their kids, they had said their goodbyes, but not all of these farewells had been happy—Persephone was cold and prickly (more so than usual), not just to her mother, but to everyone around her, even her clique.

Persephone couldn't sleep that night. She just kept wide awake, staring out the window in misery. It was raining, just like the night before she'd met Charon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Persephone crept out of the house one morning, as quietly as she could. She had to be careful not to alert her nanny, or worse, Russell, that little snitch—if he caught her going out alone this early, he'd have their mom on the phone before she could say her own four-syllable name._

_Still, Persephone loved these muggy mornings after storms—the rain had stopped, but the grey clouds were still out, and the sand down by the beach made a delightful _squish_ under her feet. It was days like this that Persephone loved to go outside most. The strong sunlight that usually shined on her hometown was murder on her sensitive albino skin._

_As usual, Persephone went toward the beach instead of into town. She was nowhere near stupid enough to go right toward her mother. Besides, the beach had lots of neat Pokémon to observe._

_The young albino spread out her towel and took a seat. She hadn't brought her umbrella this time; there wasn't enough sun to bother. As she stared out at the beach, she saw a bunch of the usual Pokémon—the red gemlike forms on the heads of Tentacool, bright lights flashing from underwater Chinchou, and Magikarp flopping about like idiots._

_However, there was a difference this morning—the numerous Wingull of the beach, normally quite mild-mannered, were angrily swarming around the cabanas._

_Persephone was anxious to investigate this strange occurrence, so she picked up her towel and ran over. There, in the middle of the fracas, she saw a Pokémon that was decidedly _not _a Wingull. It was birdlike, like them, but that's where the similarities ended. Its feathers, instead of being white with stripes of blue like a Wingull's, were jet-black, unkempt, and soaked with rain. Its beak was long and crooked, and its eyes sharp and fierce. This Pokémon seemed to have selected one cabana as its own, and wasn't too eager to share. It was obviously strong—it was beating over a dozen Wingull on its own!_

It's a Murkrow, _Persephone noted in her mind. She had seen its kind on TV, but never in person—Murkrow were forest Pokémon, and never hung out on beaches. She decided that she wanted a closer look, so, being careful to avoid the Wingull, she approached the cabana._

_To her shock, the Murkrow flew down and violently pecked her, cawing angrily and refusing to stop until she ran off of the beach._

_Biting back tears, Persephone ran home, vowing to win in round two._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**End Flashback (and Scene)…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning at breakfast, Persephone couldn't bring herself to eat. Her team mercifully sat with her, but none of them knew quite what they should say. Miserable, Persephone excused herself and went down to the library to be alone for a while. Before she could even find a good book, though, she was called to the principal's office.

"Hello, Persephone," Principal Gonzales greeted sadly when she walked in. "Your mother has some news for you, and I felt that it was best delivered in private."

The albino girl sighed and walked over to the videophone, seeing her mother on the screen. "Hey, mom," she said, dejected.

"Hello, Persephone, dear," Demeter replied. "I felt you should know that I've found a place for Charon."

"So soon?!" Persephone exclaimed.

"Oh, yes. There's a wonderful bird Pokémon sanctuary near Ecruteak City that would be happy to take Charon off of our hands. I just need to fill out the paperwork and we can send him over first thing tomorrow."

"You mean _you _can send him first thing tomorrow!"

Demeter scowled. "Don't you talk back to me, young lady!" she scolded. "This is for your own good! That Charon was a bad influence, and if you keep up that kind of bad behavior this whole family could end up disowning you!"

"Is that all you care about?" Persephone cried. "Me becoming a police officer? I don't _want _to follow the family business! I want to do something _fun _with my life, and with Charon!"

"The only thing you'll end up doing with Charon is becoming a wanted criminal! The subject is closed, Persephone! Charon is going away, and that is that!"

With that, Demeter hung up.

"I'm sorry about all of this," Principal Gonzales sighed. "I really am."

"Can't you just give me back my Charon?" Persephone pleaded. "Please?"

"Absolutely not," the principal said sadly. "Demeter is expecting me to send over a Murkrow, and I can't risk my job to help a student disobey their mother. I'm sorry, Persephone, but there's nothing I can do."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Persephone adjourned to her room after that. She had no idea how long it was before she heard a knock on her door.

"Go away!" she shouted.

"Come on, boss," Adrian's voice called. "Let us in. We have something for you."

Persephone was silent.

"I choose to take that as a 'yes'," Saoirse said.

The door opened and Persephone's six enforcers came in and took a look at their leader. Her hair was messed up, her nose was runny, and her eyes were puffy. She had been crying lately.

This was a new experience for Persephone's clique. They'd never seen her sad before—it was like an aggressive Wobbuffet or a friendly Coach Gold.

"What do you want?" the disheveled albino snapped.

"We haven't seen you since breakfast," Archie informed.

"We were worried," Maxie added.

"We brought something we thought might make you feel better," Jason said.

Jason pulled out a paper bag and handed it to his leader. She reached in and pulled out a large, red Berry with a bumpy top and oblong shape—a Pomeg Berry.

"It's your favorite, right?" Saoirse asked.

Persephone nodded, but she couldn't stop staring at the fruit.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_Sorry I'm late," Demeter said, hanging up her hat and uniform as she entered the house. "How were the kids?"_

"_Oh, angels, as usual," replied Prudence, the twins' buxom, redheaded nanny. "But you're home awful late. What was the delay?"_

"_Oh, some Murkrow has been terrorizing the beach all day. We had to rope off the whole area, and then it just flew off to find a new roost. If I never see that Murkrow again, it'll be too soon!"_

"_Murkrow, eh? They're not native to this area. What's it doing here?"_

"_No idea. Best theory is that it was blown off its migration path during that storm last night. Whatever the problem, it doesn't seem to care. It just wants to spread trouble. And it's a lot stronger than you'd expect—Nurse Joy tried to capture it, and her Chansey was creamed."_

"_That's terrible!"_

"_Oh, she'll be fine. I just hope that we've seen the last of that thing!"_

_Neither of these grown-ups ever would've guessed that Persephone was listening in. She was glad to hear more about this Murkrow. After all, Sun Tzu's first rule of war was "know thy enemy". She knew that the Murkrow wasn't gone. It had power here, and it wouldn't give that up so easily._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

_The next day, as Persephone went to school with Russell, she kept an eye out for the Murkrow the whole way there, but saw nothing. It wasn't until lunch that she did._

_It was a sunny day, so the kids got to eat lunch at the outdoor tables. Persephone angled her umbrella to give her proper shade and inspected her sack lunch. In addition to the pastrami sandwich, carrot sticks, and lemonade, Prudence had included a special treat: a Pomeg Berry._

_What happened next happened in the blink of an eye. Wingull swarmed the playground, swooping down and stealing food and occasionally beating a student away here or there, and commanding them all was that Murkrow._

_The teachers rushed out as the students stampeded in, but Persephone just sat, paralyzed. That Murkrow had seen her, and it definitely recognized her. With a sadistic caw, it swooped down and stole the Pomeg Berry right out of her hand, then proceeded to greedily devour it._

_Persephone snatched at the Darkness Pokémon's feathers and painfully pulled a few out before a teacher rushed her indoors. That Murkrow had just declared war, and it had picked a very dangerous enemy._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**End Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Pers?" Vienna said, poking her roommate. "Pers, are you there?"

"Yeah," Persephone replied, though she didn't sound entirely sure. "I'm just not hungry right now."

"What's the matter?" Maxie asked. "I've never seen you pass up a Pomeg Berry before."

Persephone sighed, then told them what her mom had told her.

"That's awful!" Adrian exclaimed. "A trainer and their first-ever Pokémon share a very special bond! Getting rid of it is like getting rid of a huge piece of you!"

Persephone just threw her head back into her pillow and started crying again. Unsure of what to say, her clique left the room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Classes that day were a nightmare for Persephone. Gossip of Charon's departure was spreading, and, though almost nobody knew for sure, Persephone was still losing respect left and right without her Murkrow to back her up. People weren't as afraid of her anymore, and her hold on the school was slipping as a result. People laughed at her, challenged her, and, worst of all _pitied _her. She didn't want sympathy—she wanted Charon!

The only one whose fear for her hadn't ebbed at all was Coach Gold. He was as terrified of those pictures as ever. He made her captain of her baseball team for class, but she was in no mood.

Then, when she was up at bat, she couldn't help but notice that Riley, the pitcher, held the ball just like a Pokeball. He threw it like one, too…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Students were brought home early on the day of the bird Pokémon attack. Parents wanted them safe. Russell was scared out of his gourd (the little wuss), but Persephone was just furious. That Murkrow would pay for stealing her Pomeg Berry, she'd see to that._

_A couple of hours later, as Persephone and Russell were having a snack at the dinner table, Demeter returned home, looking quite distressed._

"_What happened, mom?" Russell asked, unable to stop staring._

"_You were in the middle of the bird Pokémon attack, weren't you?" Demeter snapped, causing Russell to cower slightly. "They've been swarming in different spots in town all day! That Murkrow is a threat to everyone here! The Wingull were easy enough to scatter, but that Murkrow is persistent. It may have left town temporarily, but we're sure it'll be back real soon, and who knows what then?_

"_As it is, I'm forbidding both of you from leaving this house until this crisis passes!"_

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

_Persephone was never one to follow the rules too closely, no matter what her mother thought. That Murkrow had made it personal when it ate her favorite snack. She wouldn't let anyone else get her revenge for her._

_Of course, she wasn't just going out willy-nilly. She had a plan. She had gotten the family's pet Growlithe, Darla, a retired police Growlithe, to come with her for a battle. She held the feathers she'd pulled off of the Murkrow up to Darla's nose and followed the tracker out of the house and through the city. The Pokémon led her down to the beach, then back up to the school, and downtown into several back alleys. It was in one of those that Darla stopped, pointing her nose straight up._

_There, perched on a clothesline, was the Murkrow._

"_All right, Murkrow," Persephone shouted. "I'm challenging you to a battle!"_

"Murk, murkrow!" _the Murkrow cackled. It wasn't taking her seriously._

"_I mean it!" she yelled._

_The Murkrow just laughed harder._

_Persephone had had enough. "Darla, hit it with a Flamethrower!" she ordered._

"Growlithe!" _Darla barked, opening her mouth and shooting a jet of flame up at the Darkness Pokémon._

"Murkrow!" _the Murkrow screamed, flitting aside just in time. _"Mur, murk!"

"_That's right!" Persephone called. "I'm serious! Now battle me!"_

_The Murkrow narrowed its eyes, but nodded, then flew in for a Peck attack._

"_Dodge and use Fire Fang!" the albino instructed._

"Grow, growlithe!" _Darla replied, leaping out of the way of the Murkrow's assault and trying to bite it as its teeth burned bright. The Murkrow, however, just laughed and flew behind Darla, then hit her with a strong Wing Attack to the posterior._

"_Don't take that, Darla!" Persephone yelled. "Knock it into the wall with your feet!"_

_Darla nodded and kicked the Murkrow into the brick wall behind it._

"_Now Fire Fang!"_

_Darla turned and advanced in for another attack, but the Murkrow let out a loud cry and paralyzed her in place. While Darla was cringing from the Astonish, the Murkrow flew around and knocked her down with another Wing Attack._

"_Keep trying!" Persephone cried. "Another Flamethrower!"_

_Darla growled and pulled herself to her feet, shooting another jet of flame at the Darkness Pokémon, this time hitting her mark—the attack struck the Murkrow square in the breast, pinning it to a wall._

"_Keep it up!" Persephone cheered. "Turn up the power!"_

_The Puppy Pokémon barked and put more of her strength into the attack, dealing critical damage._

"Murk, murkrow!" _the Murkrow screamed. With an immense amount of effort, it managed to break free, then swooped down and hit Darla in the face with yet another Wing Attack._

_That was it for Darla. She was old and retired, and couldn't take any more. She fell over on her side, unable to battle._

_The Murkrow laughed and laughed, savoring its victory. It never saw Persephone until it was too late. She beaned it with her umbrella, knocking it out on the spot. Then, to make her victory permanent, she pulled out a Pokeball that she'd taken from her mom's cabinet and threw it at the Darkness Pokémon. The ball opened and the Murkrow was converted into light and sucked in. The ball closed and began to wiggle as the Pokémon struggled to escape. This lasted an entire minute before the ball was still._

_She had captured the Murkrow._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**End Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"OW!" Persephone cried as the ball struck her in the forehead. She held her hand to it and felt a bump growing.

"Hit by pitch," Coach Gold said dismissively. "Take your base."

"Coach," Saoirse called. "I think she's really hurt! She needs to see the nurse!"

"Hm?" the coach grunted. It was obvious that he didn't care. "Oh, fine. Jenny, you know where Ms. Joy's office is."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"That's quite a nasty bump," Ms. Joy commented. "How did this happen, exactly?"

"Hit by a baseball in gym," Persephone sighed. She stared around at the stark-white infirmary, with all those childish posters telling kids to avoid bad habits like smoking and riding bikes without helmets. She absolutely hated this place. It smelled like iodine and rubber gloves.

Joy stared at Persephone with her big, brown eyes. "That's not like you, Persephone," she said. "You're usually so focused."

"I'm allowed to have off days," the albino girl growled.

"Yes, I suppose so. But I find that it's better to talk out your feelings. Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

Persephone truly _did _want to talk—but not to a Joy.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_I don't know what to say, Persephone," Demeter said when her daughter showed her the Pokeball the next morning. "You directly disobeyed me, and left the house to chase after a dangerous Pokémon in the middle of the night, but you also showed great initiative and resourcefulness—I'm not sure whether to ground you or deputize you."_

"_Do whatever you think is right," Persephone replied. "But can I keep it? Please?"_

"_No!" Russell shouted, the little brat. "That thing's evil! Get rid of it!"_

_Demeter had to think on this one. "I suppose…" she said. "If you can be responsible and keep it under control, Persephone, then I suppose there's nothing wrong with you keeping it. All children should have a Pokémon, after all. For protection, at the very least."_

_Persephone was overjoyed, and Russell looked ready to cry, the big baby._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

_Keeping the Murkrow under control was definitely easier said than done. The Darkness Pokémon had a strong will, and was reluctant to call Persephone its master. It constantly cawed loudly and made her jump, and violently pecked her. It ate her food and stole her house key. It alerted Prudence whenever she tried to sneak out, and laughed when she got punished. It declared Darla's bed as its own, which led to daily fights between them._

_The Murkrow usually won._

_It was after one of these fights that Persephone took her Murkrow to the Pokémon Center to heal, and hopefully get some advice from the local Nurse Joy._

"_Well," the nurse told her, putting a finger to her cheek. "Pokémon are actually a lot like people—they often act out due to neglect or abuse. I'd advise showing Murkrow some compassion and kindness instead of just anger and frustration. The healing process is slow, but it will happen over time."_

_****_

_That was the last time she'd ever take a Nurse Joy's advice. The Murkrow wasn't neglected or abused—it was just mean. It enjoyed causing misery to those around it. It continued to wreak havoc day after day, and only interpreted her (admittedly forced) kind gestures as signs of weakness. _

_Finally Persephone had had enough. She ran into her room and slammed the door shut, then released the Murkrow from its Pokeball._

"Murkrow!" _the Pokémon squawked, violently pecking at her head._

"_ENOUGH!" Persephone shouted, striking it with her umbrella. "I have had it with you! I'm sick of you acting like you're above the rules here! Like it or not, _I'm _your master and _you _obey _me_!"_

"Murkrow, murk!" _the Murkrow argued._

"_I'll show you some respect when you actually earn it!" the oddball Jenny snapped, picking up her umbrella to hit it again._

_Just before the two could begin fighting, the door flew open and Russell came in._

"_Persephone," he sneered. "Mom says you have one more week to train that Murkrow or it's out of here! Whatever you're doing, keep it up!"_

_Persephone raised her umbrella, but before she could advance three steps, the Murkrow was angrily pecking her twin all over._

_Russell ran out of the room, screaming bloody murder._

_Persephone stared at the Murkrow for a minute. "That was…pretty cool," she finally said._

"Murk?" _the Darkness Pokémon replied, confused._

"_Yeah…" the albino girl responded. "What are we doing, anyway? We're wasting our time trying to control each other! Why should we make _each other _miserable when we can team up and make _everyone _miserable?"_

"Murkrow!" _the Murkrow agreed._

"_Perfect," Persephone said with a smile. "Watch out, world—here comes Persephone and…you know," she stopped. "You need a real name. Something that matches you."_

"Murk, murkrow?"

"_Yeah, something from Greek mythology, like all the women in my family. Not Hades—he and Persephone never really got along, and I'm trying to promote team spirit here. How about Thanatos, a lesser god of death? Or Hypnos, god of sleep? They were pretty important in the underworld."_

"Murkrow," _the Murkrow cawed. The look on his face made it clear that it hated the names._

"_You're not an easy one to reason with," Persephone frowned. "Hey, how about 'Charon'? He was the ferryman of the river Styx, and he'd milk people for all they were worth, taking their money just for transport to the land of the dead. He's the reason the Greeks couldn't take it with them. Sounds like you, doesn't it?" she said hopefully._

_The Murkrow hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded._

"_Charon it is!"_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**End Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Persephone? Persephone?"

"Huh?" Persephone said, snapping back to reality.

"Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" Ms. Joy asked again.

Persephone looked directly into Ms. Joy's huge brown eyes.

"No," she lied.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lunch turned into a nightmare for Persephone, and it all started when a familiar dark-haired boy walked up to her brother's table. He was handsome and charismatic, with his hair combed down low so it nearly covered one eye.

"Hey, guys," he said. "Glad to see me?"

Russell looked confused, but the others were ecstatic.

"FALKNER!" they all exclaimed (except for Jose, of course—he just smiled). Riley seemed especially happy, jumping up and hugging the boy.

"Dude," the indigo-clad boy said. "Was today the day you came back from that Valencia Island exchange thing?"

"Yes, Professor Exposition," Falkner replied, rolling his eyes, but then he grew excited again. "It was a blast! We had all our classes outdoors every Friday!"

"Lucky…" Erika and Noel mumbled.

"Sorry," Russell piped up. "But…who are you?"

Steven laughed and spoke up. "Russell, this is our old friend Falkner," he said. "He won a drawing to attend a sister school on Valencia Island not long before you got here. Falkner," he grinned, turning to the old friend. "This is our new friend Russell. He's Persephone's twin brother, but you'd never guess it."

"Great to meet you," Falkner greeted, shaking Russell's hand before addressing the group. "So, guys, what else has changed since I left?"

As Persephone watched her frequent opposers fill their old friend in on recent events, she couldn't help but remember how she had clawed her way to her place as underworld queen of the school.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_As soon as Persephone had met her roommates, she had begun formulating plans to rule the school. If pageants had taught her one thing, it was how to manipulate people around her. She needed Vienna's money for influence, and for that she needed Vienna. That was easy enough—Vienna was a sucker for flattery, and just kept getting easier to control. _

_She also needed muscle, which was where Archie and Maxie came in. Those two disagreed on almost everything, but they did have a couple of things in common, most prominently their big crushes on Vienna. _

_These may have been unusual friendship starters, but they worked. The foursome became thick as thieves (which they also became once in a while)._

_The next step had been establishing a reputation for herself, which she did by defeating other trainers. Riley was her first choice—he had a really strong Pokémon that was still a bad matchup against Charon. After beating him, she took on Falkner, Steven, Erika, and numerous others, beating them all easily._

_Roxanne had been a lot tougher. Nosepass had numerous advantages against Charon, and dealt Persephone a devastating loss the first time around, but with clever planning and lots of evasive tactics, Persephone and Charon managed to pull off a win in the rematch._

_Still, given a choice, she preferred to look like a good guy in the eyes of the other students, and she formulated a plan to do just that._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

"You _want to battle _me_?!" Coach Gold laughed, his booming voice echoing all over the gym._

"_That's right!" Persephone said, loud enough for the entire class to hear. "I'm not afraid of your intimidation tactics!"_

"_Why would I waste my time battling a student?" the coach sneered. ""Your Pokémon's too low-level to actually be a challenge!"_

"_Then you have nothing to worry about!" Persephone shot back._

_Coach Gold looked all around the room as the kids stared with anticipation, then let out a growl. "Oh…fine!" he consented. "I guess a demonstration of proper Fighting Pokémon tactics couldn't hurt!"_

"_Then let's sweeten the deal," the oddball Jenny smirked. "If I win, then we all get out of your class for a week!"_

"_Why not?" the titan laughed. "But when you lose, everyone here's running an extra thirty laps!"_

_All the students gasped, but Persephone just smiled. "No problem," she said, pulling out Charon's Pokeball. "I don't plan on losing! Go, Charon!"_

_Persephone threw her Pokeball and Charon appeared with a loud squawk._

"_Beating a student's low-level Pokémon shouldn't take long," Coach Gold laughed, throwing his own Pokeball. "Hitmonchan, get ready to punch 'em out!"_

"Hitmonchan!" _Hitmonchan cried as it materialized in a flash of light._

"_Persephone had better know what she's doing…" Falkner muttered under his breath._

"_Yeah," Riley agreed. "Normally I'd love to see that Murkrow of hers pummeled, but not if it means extra laps!"_

"_You're the student, kid," the coach declared smugly. "You take the first attack."_

"_Fine by me!" Persephone snapped. "Charon, start things off with Peck!"_

"Murkrow!" _Charon cawed, flying at Hitmonchan with its beak held high._

"_Too easy," Coach Gold laughed. "Hitmonchan, intercept with Comet Punch!"_

_Hitmonchan nodded, and when Charon got close it struck with a flurry of punches so fast that its fists looked like a couple of red blurs._

"_Now hit it with a Mach Punch!"_

"Monchan!" _Hitmonchan hissed, striking Charon in the breast with another ultra-fast punch and knocking it back._

"Murkrow!" _Charon cried, doing everything in its power to remain airborne._

"_Okay," Persephone admitted. "That wasn't the smartest move. Let's try Night Shade!"_

"Murk, murkrow!" _Charon laughed, opening its beak and sending a beam of dark energy at its opponent._

"_Take it, Hitmonchan!" Coach Gold commanded._

_Hitmonchan nodded and stood its ground, letting the attack strike it right in the chest, but when all was said and done, it didn't have a scratch on it!_

"_Persephone, Charon's too inexperienced for Night Shade to be of any real use against a higher-level Pokémon!" Roxanne shouted out._

"_Get your head in the game, Pers!" Falkner urged. "I don't wanna run laps!"_

"_Not much choice now!" the herculean PE teacher laughed. "Hitmonchan, give it an Ice Punch!"_

"_Evasive maneuvers!" the albino girl yelled._

_Hitmonchan ran at Charon, its fist out and covered with frost, but Charon flitted aside just a fraction of a second before the punching demon could strike._

"_Great work!" Persephone cheered. "Now use Astonish!"_

"Murkrow!" _Charon replied. _"MUR-KROW!"

_A blast of red sound waves flew from Charon's beak and struck Hitmonchan dead-center, but the Punching Pokémon just chuckled, ready for more._

"_Is that all you've got?" the coach boomed. "I've faced Magikarp tougher than that Murkrow of yours!"_

_Persephone growled as her anime vein began to bulge. Charon looked pretty miffed, too._

"_You want tough?" she shrieked. "I'll show you tough! Charon, hit it with a full-power Wing Attack!"_

_Charon obeyed the command, zooming forward with its wings arced._

"_You never learn, do you?" Coach Gold jeered. "Hitmonchan, strike it down with Ice Punch!"_

"Hitmon," _Hitmonchan smirked, raising a frost-covered fist._

_Charon was headed right at its imminent doom! Persephone had to think fast!_

_Then, a flash of inspiration came._

"_Dive down and strike low!" she cried._

_Charon heeded the instruction just in time. It swooped down out of the way of Hitmonchan's attack and slammed its wings into the Punching Pokémon's shin with all its might._

"Hitmon!" _Hitmonchan said through its teeth, falling to one knee._

"_Hitmonchan!" Coach Gold called. "You can still battle, right?"_

"Hit, hitmon!" _the Fighting-type responded, forcing a confident smile as it raised its fists up by its cheeks. _"Hitmonchan!"

"_Good," the coach grunted. "Because from now on, we're not holding anything back!"_

"_That won't help you now," Persephone sneered. "Hitmonchan's in no condition to go on much longer!"_

"_I can't believe I'm saying this," Falkner breathed. "But Persephone might just win this!"_

"_She'd better," Riley muttered back. "Otherwise we're all in trouble!"_

"_Charon," Persephone called. "Finish this with one last Wing Attack!"_

"Murkrow!" _Charon cawed, smiling wide as it spread out its wings and flew straight at its opponent. _"Murkrow, murkrow!"

_Every student in the room held their breath hoping with all their might that the attack would succeed._

_The coach scowled, but stayed silent as he stared at Charon. He had to time this perfectly. He watched as Charon inched closer and closer and then…_

"_Hitmonchan, Close Combat, now!"_

_Hitmonchan's reaction was lightning-fast. It caught Charon in a volley up super-concentrated punches that just never seemed to end. Like with Comet Punch, Hitmonchan's fists moved so fast that they were nothing more than blurs, but these blows were about ten times harder. Charon was tossed helplessly between jabs, unable to so much as cry out in pain._

_Then, as suddenly as it had started, the assault stopped, and Charon fell to the floor, unconscious._

_It was over. Persephone had lost._

_**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**_

_That one loss didn't quite destroy Persephone's reputation as a strong trainer, but it certainly did that to her mark as a smart one. People began to think of her as a self-absorbed punk who thought she could beat anyone. It was just lucky that Vienna wasn't in that class or everything she would've worked for would've been lost._

_Still, it was at that time that Persephone decided that if she couldn't _control _the school, she'd just have to _escape _it. But not in just any old way—no, that wasn't becoming of someone with her intelligence and abilities. She'd escape the school, and become a legend for it._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**End Flashback…**_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"But enough about what happened here, F-sharp," Steven laughed. "What news have _you _got?"

"Oh, you guys are gonna love this!" Falkner smiled, reaching to his belt and snatching up his Pokeball. "Check _this _out!"

Falkner threw the ball and a Pokémon emerged in a flash of light. It looked like a large, predatorial bird, with brown and white feathers and a crown of pale pink ones over its head. It let out a caw as it landed on Falkner's outstretched arm.

"Awesome!" Riley raved. "Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto! I can't wait for a rematch!"

"Well, you don't have a choice," Falkner said with a frown. "Pidgeotto's first opponents here will be Persephone and that Murkrow of hers!"

Everyone at the table exchanged glances, but it was Russell who spoke up.

"Persephone doesn't have Charon anymore. Mom made her get rid of it."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Word spread fast. Within a couple of hours, the whole school knew for sure that Charon would be gone forever by tomorrow. Her control wasn't just slipping anymore—it was almost gone. Only her clique remained loyal to her now.

As Persephone lay back in her bed, counting the minutes going by, she realized that those people were more than just her valued minions—they were her friends, and close ones at that. They'd help her through this terrible time.

Suddenly there was a rap at the window. Persephone got up and went over to open it, but found absolutely no one there. Upon closer inspection, though, she found a Pokeball tucked onto the sill.

Curious, Persephone took the ball and pressed the button to open it.

A Pokémon appeared in a flash of light. It was a black, birdlike Pokémon with a crooked yellow beak. Charon!

No, not Charon, Persephone realized, her euphoria coming to an abrupt halt. Charon had an air of smugness that she could easily recognize. This was just an ordinary Murkrow, probably one that had been caught in the nearby forest.

Persephone's disappointment was soon replaced by anger. How dare somebody think that this, this _Murkrow_ could take the place of her Charon! Charon was irreplaceable!

Or was it?

Slowly, a plan crept into Persephone's mind.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So you switched the Pokeballs?" Jason laughed.

"Yep," Persephone replied with a smirk. "Just as I was saying my goodbyes. They'll never figure it out. Only _I _know Charon well enough for that."

Persephone was spending her recess in the library with her clique—no, her friends. She had to get used to calling them that—telling them the events of the previous night. It was quite a relief knowing that Charon wasn't gone forever.

"So," Adrian asked. "What happened to the real deal?"

"I released it into the forest last night. He can handle himself there, and I'll leave food out for him every day. Still, we need to keep his presence on the down-low, so I'll be looking to you guys for muscle from now on, okay?"

"Sure thing," Saoirse said.

"We got your back," Maxie added.

"Nobody's gonna mess with you, now or ever!" Jason promised.

Persephone smiled. This had worked out well, but one thing was still tugging at her.

"So," she said. "Which of you caught that Murkrow?"

All six of her friends shrugged, but before the conversation could continue, the bell rang and the group got up to go to class. Persephone lagged behind, noticing a couple of stragglers.

Jose was seated in front of a videophone, in the middle of a call with his father, and Russell was sitting right next to him. She peeked around to listen in.

"I've had enough of this, Jose!" Jose's dad raged, his face going pink as he held up the Pokeball that Jose had just sent back. "Wallace and I have caught dozens of Pokémon for you, and you've rejected them all!"

Jose opened his mouth to speak, but his dad cut him off.

"No excuses!" he yelled. "You're becoming a spoiled brat, and as of now I am done overworking myself to ensure that! When you're ready for your first Pokémon, call me and I'll send over one of _my _choice! Until then, good-bye!"

Jose's father hung up, and Russell put a sympathetic hand on his friend's shoulder.

As they got up to leave, Persephone noticed something.

Russell's spare Pokeball was gone.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(So, what'd you think? DRAMATIC ENOUGH? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO. I aim to please. SPEAKING OF WHICH, IT'S NOW TIME FOR THE "POKEMON IN-DEPTH" SEGMENT! This week's featured Pokémon is, understandably—

**Murkrow, the Darkness Pokémon. Murkrow are feared and loathed by many as an alleged bearer of ill fortune. It is said that anyone who sees a Murkrow at night will soon suffer terrible luck. This is more than mere superstition, however, as Murkrow are not simply omens of misfortune, but the causes as well. Wild Murkrow enjoy causing travelers trouble by leading them down dark trails where they will quickly become lost, and are also well-known thieves, having a love of anything shiny—they will even be so bold as to steal the rings right off of womens' fingers. They share this love of shiny objects with another Pokémon, Meowth, and the two have been known to loot each other's stashes. Murkrow is obviously modeled after a crow, and its name comes from "murk", meaning "partial or total darkness", or possibly "murder"—**

DON'T GET TOO AGITATED, READERS! A "murder" is what you call a group of crows!

—**and "crow". Its Japanese name, "Yamikarasu" comes from "yami", meaning "dark" and "karasu" meaning "crow".**

THANK YOU, DEXTETTE! (WOW, SHE SURE IS OPINIONATED FOR A COMPUTER…)

And now, an announcement: as of now, I am officially ending the OC acceptance. YOUR CHARACTERS WERE GREAT, AND I'LL TRY TO USE AS MANY AS I CAN, BUT I AM NO LONGER ACCEPTING ANY. However, I am still accepting requests for the In-Depth segment, and I'd be happy to take them. JUST LEAVE YOUR REQUEST AT THE END OF A (PREFERABLY LONG) REVIEW, PLEASE! Until next chapter, this is MultiplePersonas signing off!)


End file.
